Speaker 1: Chapter four of Amusement Only. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: by Roeg eleven. Amusement Only by Richard marsh The Strange
Speaker 1: Occurrences In Canterston Jail Chapter one, mister Mankell declares his
Speaker 1: intention of acting on magisterial advice. Oliver Mankell was sentenced
Speaker 1: to three months hard labor. The charge was that he
Speaker 1: had obtained money by means of false pretenses, not large sums,
Speaker 1: but shillings, half crowns and so on. He had given
Speaker 1: out that he was a wizard, and that he was
Speaker 1: able and willing for a consideration to predict the events
Speaker 1: of the future tell fortunes. In fact, the case created
Speaker 1: a large amount of local interest, for some curious stories
Speaker 1: were told about the man in the town. Mankell was
Speaker 1: a tall, slight, wiry looking fellow in the prime of life,
Speaker 1: with coal black hair and olive complexion, apparently of romany extraction.
Speaker 1: His bearing was self possessed, courteous, even with something in
Speaker 1: his air, which might have led one to suppose that
Speaker 1: he saw what others did not the humor of the thing.
Speaker 1: At one point, his grave, almost saturnine visage distinctly relaxed
Speaker 1: into a smile. It was when Colonel Gregory, the Chairman
Speaker 1: of the day, was passing sentence after committing him for
Speaker 1: three months hard labor. The colonel added, during your sojourn
Speaker 1: within the walls of the prison, you will have an
Speaker 1: opportunity of retrieving your reputation. You say you are a
Speaker 1: magician during your stay in jail, I would strongly advise
Speaker 1: you to prove it. You lay claim to magic powers,
Speaker 1: exercise them. I need scarcely point out to you how
Speaker 1: excellent a chance you will have of creating a sensation.
Speaker 1: The people laughed. When the great Panjandrum is even dimly
Speaker 1: suspected of an intention to be funny, the people always do.
Speaker 1: But on this occasion even the prisoner smiled, rather an
Speaker 1: exceptional thing, for as a rule, it is the prisoner
Speaker 1: who sees the joke the least of all. Later in
Speaker 1: the day, the prisoner was conveyed to the county jail.
Speaker 1: This necessitated a journey by rail, with a change upon
Speaker 1: the way. At the station where they changed there was
Speaker 1: a delay of twenty minutes. The prisoner and the constable
Speaker 1: in charge of him, improved by adjourning to a public
Speaker 1: house hard by. Here they had a glass. Indeed they
Speaker 1: had two, and when they reached Canterston, the town on
Speaker 1: whose outskirts stood the jail, they had one. Perhaps it
Speaker 1: was two more. It must have been too, for when
Speaker 1: they reached the jail, instead of the constable conveying the prisoner,
Speaker 1: it was the prisoner who conveyed the constable upon his shoulder.
Speaker 1: The warder, who answered the knock, seemed surprised at what
Speaker 1: he saw. What do you want three months hard labor?
Speaker 1: The warder stared. The shades of night had fallen, and
Speaker 1: the lamp above the prison door did not seem to
Speaker 1: cast sufficient light upon the subject to satisfy the janitor.
Speaker 1: Come inside, he said. Mankell entered the constable upon his shoulder.
Speaker 1: Having entered, he carefully placed the constable in a sitting
Speaker 1: posture on the stones, with his back against the wall.
Speaker 1: The policeman's helmet had tipped over his eyes. He scarcely
Speaker 1: presented an imposing picture of the majesty and might of
Speaker 1: the law. The warder shook him by the shoulder. Here,
Speaker 1: come wake up, you're a pretty sort, he said. The
Speaker 1: Constable's reply, although slightly inarticulate, was yet sufficiently distinct. Note
Speaker 1: another drop, he murmured. No, I shouldn't think so, said
Speaker 1: the warder. You've had a pailfall, it seems to me already.
Speaker 1: The man seemed a little puzzled, and he turned and
Speaker 1: looked at Mankell. What do you want here? Three months
Speaker 1: hard labor? The man looked down and saw that the
Speaker 1: newcomer had gives on his wrists. He went to the
Speaker 1: door at one side and summoned another warder. The two
Speaker 1: returned together. The second official took in the situation at
Speaker 1: a glance. Have you come here? From? Naming the town
Speaker 1: from which they had in fact come, Mankell inclined his head.
Speaker 1: The second official turned his attention to the prostate Constable
Speaker 1: Luckiness Pockets. The janitor acted on the suggestion. The order
Speaker 1: for committal was produced. Are you Oliver Mankell? Again? Mankell
Speaker 1: inclined his head. With the order in his hand, the
Speaker 1: official marched him through the side door by which he
Speaker 1: himself had appeared. Soon Oliver Mankell was the inmate of
Speaker 1: a cell. He spent most of that night in the
Speaker 1: reception cells at the gate in the morning, he had
Speaker 1: a bath, was introduced into prison clothing and examined by
Speaker 1: the doctor. He was then taken up to the main
Speaker 1: building of the prison and introduced to the governor. The
Speaker 1: governor was a quiet, gentlemanly man with a straggling black
Speaker 1: beard and spectacles. The official to the tips of his fingers.
Speaker 1: As Mankell happened to be the only fresh arrival. The
Speaker 1: governor favored him with a little speech. You've placed yourself
Speaker 1: in an uncomfortable position, Mankell. I hope you'll obey the
Speaker 1: rules while you're here. I intend to act upon the
Speaker 1: advice tendered me by the magistrate who passed sentence. The
Speaker 1: governor looked up. Not only was the voice a musical voice,
Speaker 1: but the words were not the sort of words generally
Speaker 1: chosen by the average prisoner. What advice was that? He
Speaker 1: said that I claimed to be a magician. He strongly
Speaker 1: advised me to prove it during my stay in jail.
Speaker 1: I intend to act upon the advice he tendered. The
Speaker 1: governor looked Mankell steadily in the face. The speaker's bearing
Speaker 1: conveyed no suggestion of insolent intention. The governor looked down again.
Speaker 1: I advise you to be careful what you do, you
Speaker 1: may make your position more uncomfortable than it is already.
Speaker 1: Take the man away. They took the man away. They
Speaker 1: introduced him to the wheel on the treadmill. He passed
Speaker 1: the remainder of the morning. At noon, morning tasks were
Speaker 1: over and the prisoners were marched into their day cells
Speaker 1: to enjoy the meal, which in prison parlance was called dinner.
Speaker 1: In accordance with the ordinary routine, the chaplain made his
Speaker 1: appearance in the round house to interview those prisoners who
Speaker 1: had just come in and those whose sentences would be
Speaker 1: completed on the morrow. When Mankell had been asked at
Speaker 1: the gate what his religion was, he had made no answer,
Speaker 1: So the warder, quite used to ignorance on the part
Speaker 1: of new arrivals as to all religions, has entered him
Speaker 1: as a member of the Church of England. As a
Speaker 1: member of the Church of England, he was taken out
Speaker 1: to interview the chaplain. The chaplain was a little fussy gentleman,
Speaker 1: considerably past middle age. Long experience of prisons and prisoners
Speaker 1: had bred in him, perhaps unconscious habit of regarding criminals
Speaker 1: as naughty boys urchins who required a judicious combination of
Speaker 1: cakes and castigation. Well, my lad, I'm sorry to see
Speaker 1: a man of your appearance here. This was a remark
Speaker 1: the chaplain made to a good many of his new friends.
Speaker 1: It was intended to give them the impression that at
Speaker 1: least the chaplain perceived that they were something out of
Speaker 1: the ordinary. Run Then he dropped his voice to a
Speaker 1: judicious whisper, what's it for for telling the truth? This
Speaker 1: replies seemed a little to surprise the chaplain. He settled
Speaker 1: his spectacles upon his nose. For telling the truth. An
Speaker 1: idea seemed all at once to strike the chaplain. Do
Speaker 1: you mean that you pleaded guilty? The man was silent.
Speaker 1: The chaplain referred to the paper he held in his hand. Eh,
Speaker 1: I see that here it has written false pretenses? Was
Speaker 1: it a stumer? We have seen it mentioned somewhere that
Speaker 1: stumer is slang for a worthless check. It was away
Speaker 1: with the chaplain to let his charges see that he
Speaker 1: was at least acquainted with their phraseology, But on this
Speaker 1: occasion there was no response. The officer in charge of Mankell,
Speaker 1: who possibly wanted his dinner, put in his oar, telling fortunes, sir,
Speaker 1: telling fortunes, Oh, dear me, how sad you see what
Speaker 1: telling fortunes brings you to. There will be no difficulty
Speaker 1: in telling your fortune if you don't take care. I
Speaker 1: will see you tomorrow morning after chapel. The chaplain turned away,
Speaker 1: but his prediction proved to be as false as Mankell's
Speaker 1: were stated to have been. He did not see him
Speaker 1: the next morning after chapel, and that for sufficient reason
Speaker 1: that on the following morning there was no chapel. And
Speaker 1: the reasons why there was no chapel were very curious,
Speaker 1: indeed unprecedented. In fact, Canterston Jail was an old fashioned prison.
Speaker 1: In it, each prisoner had two cells, one for the
Speaker 1: day and one for the night. The day cells were
Speaker 1: on the ground floor, those for the night were overhead.
Speaker 1: At six a m. A bell was rung and the
Speaker 1: warders unlocked the night cells for the occupants to go
Speaker 1: down to those beneath. That was the rule. That particular morning,
Speaker 1: there was an exception to the rule. The bell was
Speaker 1: rung as usual and the warders started to unlock, but
Speaker 1: there the adherence to custom ceased, for the doors of
Speaker 1: the cells refused to be unlocked. The night cells were
Speaker 1: hermetically sealed by oaken doors of massive thickness, bolted and
Speaker 1: barred in accordance with the former idea that the security
Speaker 1: of prisoners should depend rather on bolts and bars than
Speaker 1: on the vigilance of the offices and charge. Each door
Speaker 1: was let into a twenty four inch brick wall and
Speaker 1: secured by two ponderous bolts and an enormous lock of
Speaker 1: the most complicated workmanship. These locks were kept constantly oiled.
Speaker 1: When the gigantic key was inserted, it turned as easily
Speaker 1: as the key of a watch. That was the rule.
Speaker 1: When therefore, on inserting his key into the lock of
Speaker 1: the first cell, Warder Slater found that it wouldn't turn
Speaker 1: at all. He was rather taken aback, who's been having
Speaker 1: a game with this lock? He asked Wardoer Puffin, who
Speaker 1: was stationed at the head of the stairs to see
Speaker 1: that the prisoners passed down in order at the proper
Speaker 1: distance from each other, replied to him, anything the matter
Speaker 1: with the lock? Try the next Wardersladder did try the next,
Speaker 1: but he found that as refractory as the first had been.
Speaker 1: Perhaps he'd got the wrong key, suggested wardour Puffin got
Speaker 1: the wrong key, cried Warderslater do you think I don't
Speaker 1: know my own keys when I see them. The oddest
Speaker 1: part of it was that all the locks were the same,
Speaker 1: not only in ward A, but in wards B, C, D, E,
Speaker 1: and F in all the wards. In fact, when this
Speaker 1: became known, a certain sensation was created, and that on
Speaker 1: both sides of the unlocked doors, the prisoners were soon
Speaker 1: conscious that their guardians were unable to release them, and
Speaker 1: they made a noise. Nothing is so precious to the
Speaker 1: average prisoner as a grievance. Here was a grievance with
Speaker 1: a vengeance. The chief warder was a man named Murray.
Speaker 1: He was short and stout, with a red face and short,
Speaker 1: stubbly white hair. His very appearance suggested apoplexy. That suggestion
Speaker 1: was emphasized when he lost his temper capable off sir
Speaker 1: though he was. That was more than once in a while.
Speaker 1: He was in the wheelshed awaiting the arrival of the
Speaker 1: prisoner's preparatory to being told off to their various tasks,
Speaker 1: when instead of the prisoners, warder Slater appeared. If Murray
Speaker 1: was stout, Slater was stouter. He was about five feet
Speaker 1: eight and weighed at least two hundred and fifty pounds.
Speaker 1: He was wont to amaze those who saw him for
Speaker 1: the first time, and wondered by assuring them that he
Speaker 1: had a brother who was still stouter compared to whom
Speaker 1: He was a skeleton in fact, but he was stout enough.
Speaker 1: He and the Chief Warder made us striking pair. There's
Speaker 1: something the matter with the locks of the night sail, sir.
Speaker 1: We can't under the doors, can't undo the doors. Mister
Speaker 1: Murray turned the color of a boiled beetroot. What do
Speaker 1: you mean, it's very queer, sir, But all over the
Speaker 1: place it's the same. We can't get none of the
Speaker 1: doors unlocked. Mister Murray started off at a good round pace, slater,
Speaker 1: following hard at his heels. The Chief Warder tried his
Speaker 1: hand himself. He tried every lock in the prison, not
Speaker 1: one of them vouchsafed to Budge, not one, that is,
Speaker 1: with a single exception. The exception was in Ward B
Speaker 1: number twenty seven. Mister Murray had tried all the other
Speaker 1: doors in the ward, beginning with number one, tried them
Speaker 1: all in vain. But when he came to number twenty seven,
Speaker 1: the lock turned with customary ease, and the door was
Speaker 1: open within it was Oliver Mankell, standing decorously at attention,
Speaker 1: waiting to be let out. Mister Murray stared at him, Hum,
Speaker 1: there's nothing the matter with this lock. At any rate,
Speaker 1: you better go on. Oliver Mankell went downstairs. He was
Speaker 1: the only man in Canterston Jail who did. Wow, this
Speaker 1: is our pretty go, exclaimed mister Murray. When he had
Speaker 1: completed his round, two or three other warders had accompanied him.
Speaker 1: He turned on these someone well smart for this, you see.
Speaker 1: If they don't keep those men still, the din was deafening.
Speaker 1: The prisoners, secure of a grievance, were practicing step dances
Speaker 1: in their heavy shoes on the stone floors. They made
Speaker 1: the narrow vaulted corridors ring silence. Those men shouted mister Jarvis,
Speaker 1: the second warder, who was tall and thin, as the
Speaker 1: chief was short and stout, He might as well have
Speaker 1: shouted to the wind. Those in the cells close at
Speaker 1: hand observed the better part of valor, but those a
Speaker 1: little distance off paid not the slightest heed. If they
Speaker 1: were locked in. The officers were locked out. I must
Speaker 1: go and see the governor. Mister Murray pursed his lips.
Speaker 1: Keep those men still, or I'll know the reason why
Speaker 1: he strode off, leaving his subordinates to obey his orders
Speaker 1: if they could or if they couldn't. Mister Paley's house
Speaker 1: was in the center of the jail. Pailey, by the way,
Speaker 1: was the Governor's name. The governor, when mister Murray arrived,
Speaker 1: was still in bed. He came down to the Chief
Speaker 1: Order in rather primitive disarray. Anything the matter, Murray, Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: there's something very much the matter. Indeed, what is it?
Speaker 1: We can't get any of the doors of the night
Speaker 1: cells open. You can't get what there seems to be
Speaker 1: something the matter with the locks. The locks, all of
Speaker 1: them absurd. Well, there they are, and there's the men
Speaker 1: inside of them, and we can't get them out. At
Speaker 1: least I've tried my hand. I know I can't. I'll
Speaker 1: come with you at once and see what you mean.
Speaker 1: Mister Paley was as good as his word. He started
Speaker 1: off just as he was. As they were going, the
Speaker 1: Chief Order made another remark, By the way, there's one
Speaker 1: cell we managed to get open. I opened it myself.
Speaker 1: I thought you said there was none. Ah, there's that one.
Speaker 1: That's that man mankel Mankell. Who is he? He came
Speaker 1: in yesterday he's that magician. When they reached the cells,
Speaker 1: it was easy to perceive that something was wrong. The
Speaker 1: warders hung about in twos and threes. The noise was deafening.
Speaker 1: The prisoners were keeping holiday. Get me the keys, and
Speaker 1: let me see what I can do. It is impossible
Speaker 1: that all the locks can have been tampered with. They
Speaker 1: presented mister Paley with the keys. In his turn. He
Speaker 1: tried every lock in the jail. It was not a
Speaker 1: work of a minute or two. The prison contained some
Speaker 1: three hundred night cells. To visit them all necessitated not
Speaker 1: only a good deal of running up and down stairs,
Speaker 1: but a good deal of actual walking, for they were
Speaker 1: not only in different floors and in different blocks, but
Speaker 1: the prison itself was divided into two entirely separate divisions,
Speaker 1: north and south, and to pass from one division to
Speaker 1: the other entailed a walk of at least one hundred yards.
Speaker 1: By the time he had completed the round of the locks,
Speaker 1: mister Paley had had enough of it. It was not
Speaker 1: surprising that he felt a little bewildered. Not one of
Speaker 1: the locks had shown any more readiness to yield to
Speaker 1: him than to the others. In passing from one ward
Speaker 1: to the other. He had passed the row of dacels In,
Speaker 1: which was situated b twenty seven. Here they found Oliver
Speaker 1: Mankell sitting in silent state, awaiting the call to work.
Speaker 1: The governor pulled up at the sight of him. Well, Mankell,
Speaker 1: so there was nothing the matter with the lock of
Speaker 1: your door? Mankell simply inclined his head. I suppose you
Speaker 1: know nothing about the locks of the other doors. Again,
Speaker 1: the inclination of the head. The man seemed to be
Speaker 1: habitually chary of speech. What's the matter with you? Are
Speaker 1: you dumb? Can't you speak when you're spoke? Two? This
Speaker 1: time Mankell extended the palms of his hands with a
Speaker 1: gesture which might mean anything or nothing. The governor passed
Speaker 1: on the round finished, he held a consultation with the
Speaker 1: chief warder. Have you any suspicions? It's queer, mister Murray
Speaker 1: stroked his bristly chin. It's very queer that that man
Speaker 1: Mankels should be the only cell in the prison left
Speaker 1: untampered with. Very queer. Indeed, what are we to do?
Speaker 1: We can't leave the men locked up all day. It's
Speaker 1: breakfast time already. I suppose the cooks haven't gone down
Speaker 1: to the cook house. They're locked up with the rest.
Speaker 1: Barnes has been up to know what he's to do.
Speaker 1: Barnes was the prison cook. The cooks referred to were
Speaker 1: six good behavior men who were told off to assist
Speaker 1: him in his duties. If the food were cooked, I
Speaker 1: don't see how we should give it to the men.
Speaker 1: That's the question, mister Murray pondered. We might pass it
Speaker 1: through the gas holes. We should have to break the
Speaker 1: glass to do it. You wouldn't find it easy. It's
Speaker 1: plate glass and inch in thickness and built into the
Speaker 1: solid wall. There was a pause for consideration. Wow, this
Speaker 1: is our pretty start. I've never come across anything like
Speaker 1: it in all my days. Before mister Paley passed his
Speaker 1: hand through his hair, he had never come across anything
Speaker 1: like it either. I shall have to telegraph the commissioners.
Speaker 1: I can't do anything without their sanction. The following telegram
Speaker 1: was sent. Cannot get prisoners out of night cells something
Speaker 1: the matter with locks. Cannot give them any food. The
Speaker 1: matter is very urgent. What shall I do? The following
Speaker 1: answer was received. Inspector coming down. The inspector came down.
Speaker 1: Major William Hardinge, a tall portly gentleman with a very
Speaker 1: decided manner. When he saw the governor, he came to
Speaker 1: the point at once, what's all this stuff? We can't
Speaker 1: get the prisoners out of their night cells. Why there's
Speaker 1: something the matter with the locks? Have you given them
Speaker 1: any food? We have not been able to When were
Speaker 1: they locked up yesterday evening at six o'clock? This is
Speaker 1: a very extraordinary state of things. It is or I
Speaker 1: shouldn't have asked for instructions. It's three o'clock in the afternoon.
Speaker 1: They've been without food for twenty one hours. You've no
Speaker 1: right to keep them without food all that time. We
Speaker 1: are helpless. The construction of the night cell doors does
Speaker 1: not permit of our introducing food into the interior when
Speaker 1: the doors are closed. Have they been quiet? They've been
Speaker 1: as quiet as under the circumstances was to be expected.
Speaker 1: As they were crossing towards the North division, the governor
Speaker 1: spoke again, we've been able to get one man out,
Speaker 1: one one out of the lot. How did you get
Speaker 1: at him? Oddly enough, the lock of his cell was
Speaker 1: the only one in the prison which had not been
Speaker 1: tampered with. Hmm, I should like to see that man.
Speaker 1: His name's Mankel. He only came in yesterday. He's been
Speaker 1: pretending to magic powers, telling fortunes, and that kind of
Speaker 1: thing only came in yesterday. Mmm, he's begun early. Perhaps
Speaker 1: we shall have to tell him what his fortune's likely
Speaker 1: to be. When they reached the wards, the keys were
Speaker 1: handed to the inspector, who, in his turn, tried his hand.
Speaker 1: A couple of locksmiths had been fetched up from the town.
Speaker 1: When the major had tried two or three of the locks,
Speaker 1: it was enough for him. He turned to the makers
Speaker 1: of locks. What's the matter with these locks? Well, that's
Speaker 1: exactly what we can't make out. The keys go in
Speaker 1: all right, but they won't turn. Seems as though somebody
Speaker 1: had been having a lark with them. Can't you pick them?
Speaker 1: They're not easy locks to pick, but we'll have a try.
Speaker 1: Have a try. They had a try, but they tried
Speaker 1: in vain. As it happened, the cell on which they
Speaker 1: commenced operations was occupied by a gentleman who had had
Speaker 1: considerable experience in picking locks, experience which had ended in
Speaker 1: placing him on the other side of that door. He
Speaker 1: derided the locksmiths through the door. Wow, you are a
Speaker 1: couple of keen ones. What can't pick a lock? Why
Speaker 1: they ain't a lock in England? I couldn't pick with
Speaker 1: a bent airpin. I only wish you was this side,
Speaker 1: starving like I am, and I was where you are.
Speaker 1: It wouldn't be a lock that would keep me from
Speaker 1: giving you food. This was not the sort of language
Speaker 1: Major Hardinge was accustomed to hear from the average prisoner,
Speaker 1: but the Major probably felt that on this occasion the
Speaker 1: candid proficient in the art of picking locks, had a
Speaker 1: certain excuse. He addressed the baffled workman. If you can't
Speaker 1: pick the lock, what can you do? The question is
Speaker 1: what's the shortest way of getting inside that cell? Get
Speaker 1: a watch saw, cried the gentleman on the other side
Speaker 1: of the door. And when you've got your watch saw,
Speaker 1: inquired the Major saw the lock right clean away, lor
Speaker 1: bless me. I only wish I was where you are.
Speaker 1: I'd show you a thing or two. It's as easy
Speaker 1: as winking. There's all us chaps, a starving, all for
Speaker 1: want of a little experience. A saw do no good,
Speaker 1: declared one of the locksmiths. Neither a watch saw nor
Speaker 1: any other kind of saw. How are you going to saw?
Speaker 1: Through those iron stanchions. You'll have to burst the door in.
Speaker 1: That's what it'll have to be. You won't find it
Speaker 1: an easy thing to do. This was from the governor.
Speaker 1: Why don't you take him blow the whole place up,
Speaker 1: shouted a gentleman also on the other side of the door,
Speaker 1: two or three cells off. Long before this, all the
Speaker 1: occupants of the corridor had been lending a very attentive
Speaker 1: year to what was going on. The suggestion was received
Speaker 1: with roars of laughter. The major, however, preferred to act
Speaker 1: upon the workman's advice. A sledge hammer was sent for.
Speaker 1: While they were awaiting its arrival, something rather curious happened.
Speaker 1: Curious that is, viewed in the light of what had
Speaker 1: gone on before. Warder Slater formed one of the party,
Speaker 1: more for sake of something to do than anything else.
Speaker 1: He put his key into the lock of the cell,
Speaker 1: which was just in front of him, giving it a
Speaker 1: gentle twist. To his amazement, it turned with the greatest
Speaker 1: of ease, and the door was open. Here's a go,
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, Blessed if this door ain't come open. There
Speaker 1: was a yell of jubilation all along the corridor. The
Speaker 1: prisoners seemed to be amused. The official party kept silence,
Speaker 1: possibly their feelings were too deep for words. Since we've
Speaker 1: got this one open, said Warder's letter, suppose we try another.
Speaker 1: He tried another the next and the same result followed.
Speaker 1: The door was opened with the greatest of ease. What
Speaker 1: what's the meaning of this? Sputtered the Major, who's been
Speaker 1: playing this tomfoolery. I don't believe there's anything the matter
Speaker 1: with a lock in the place. There did not seem
Speaker 1: to be just then, for when the officers tried again,
Speaker 1: they found no difficulty in unlocking the doors and setting
Speaker 1: the prisoners free. End of chapter one of the Strange
Speaker 1: Occurrences in Canterston Jail, Section five of Amusement Only. This
Speaker 1: is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Roe EG eleven. Amusement Only
Speaker 1: by Richard marsh The Strange Occurrences in Canterston Jail, Chapter
Speaker 1: two The Chaplain as an authority on witchcraft. Major Hardinge
Speaker 1: remained in the jail that night. He stayed in the
Speaker 1: Governor's house as mister Paley's guest. He expressed himself very
Speaker 1: strongly about the events of the day. I'll see this
Speaker 1: thing through if it takes me a week. The whole
Speaker 1: affair is incredible to me. It strikes me, Paley, that
Speaker 1: they've been making a fool of you. The Governor combed
Speaker 1: his hair with his fingers. His official manner had temporarily gone.
Speaker 1: He seemed depressed. I assure you that doors were locked.
Speaker 1: Of course, the doors were locked. They used the wrong
Speaker 1: keys to open them. It was a got up thing,
Speaker 1: not by the officers, by whom then I don't see
Speaker 1: how the prisoners could have lent a hand. I know
Speaker 1: the officers, and I will answer for them every man.
Speaker 1: As for the wrong keys being used, I know the
Speaker 1: keys as well as anyone. I tried them and not
Speaker 1: a lock would yield to me. But they did yield.
Speaker 1: What explanation have you to give of that? I wish
Speaker 1: I could explain? And again the Governor combed his hair.
Speaker 1: I'll have an explanation tomorrow, you see if I don't.
Speaker 1: But the major never did. On the morrow, punctually, at
Speaker 1: six a m. An imposing procession started to unlock. There
Speaker 1: were the inspector, Governor, chief warder, second warder, and the
Speaker 1: warder who carried the keys. I don't think we shall
Speaker 1: have much difficulty in getting the men out of their
Speaker 1: wells this time, remarked the Major. They did not good God,
Speaker 1: he sputtered when they reached the corridor. What what on
Speaker 1: Earth's the meaning of this? He had predicted rightly, they
Speaker 1: would have no difficulty in getting the men out of
Speaker 1: their cells. They were out already, men, the bedding, the
Speaker 1: planks and all. There was a man fast asleep in
Speaker 1: bed in front of each cell door. I thought I
Speaker 1: had given instructions that a special watch was to be
Speaker 1: kept all night. The Major roared. So there has been
Speaker 1: answered the chief warder, whose head and face and neck
Speaker 1: were purple. Major Slaughter here has only just gone off duty. Well, now, Slatter,
Speaker 1: what's the meaning of this? I don't know, protested Slatter,
Speaker 1: whose mountain of flesh seemed quivering like jelly. It's not
Speaker 1: a minute ago since I went to get my keys,
Speaker 1: and they was all inside their cells when I went down.
Speaker 1: Who let them out? Then? The Major glared at him,
Speaker 1: incredulity in every line of his countenance. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I swear it wasn't me. I suppose they let themselves out, then,
Speaker 1: you men. Although this short dialog had been conducted by
Speaker 1: no means sato voce, the noise did not seem to
Speaker 1: have had the slightest effect in rousing the prisoners out
Speaker 1: of slumber. Even when the Major called to them, they
Speaker 1: gave no sign. You men, he shouted again, it's no
Speaker 1: good shamming Abraham with me. He stooped to shake the
Speaker 1: man who was lying on the plank at his feet. Good,
Speaker 1: good God, And the man's not dead dead, cried the Governor,
Speaker 1: kneeling by the Major's side upon the stones. The sleeper
Speaker 1: was very still. He was a man of some forty
Speaker 1: years of age, with nut brown tangled hair and beard.
Speaker 1: If not a short sentenced man, he still was in
Speaker 1: the early stages of his term. For he lay on
Speaker 1: the bare boards of the plank, with the rug, blanket
Speaker 1: and sheet wrapped closely around him, so they might take
Speaker 1: as far as possible the place of the core mattress,
Speaker 1: which was not there. The bed was not a bed
Speaker 1: of comfort. Yet his sleeping was sound, strangely sound. If
Speaker 1: he breathed at all, it was so lightly as to
Speaker 1: be inaudible. On his face. Was that dazed, strained expression,
Speaker 1: which we sometimes see on the faces of those who,
Speaker 1: without a moment's warning, have been suddenly visited by death.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's dead, the governor said. He seems
Speaker 1: to be in some sort of trance. What's the man's name, Chkok,
Speaker 1: he's one of the optors. He's got a month. It
Speaker 1: was Warder Slater who gave the information. The governor took
Speaker 1: the man by the shoulder and tried to rouse him
Speaker 1: out of sleep.
Speaker 2: Itchck, itchcock, Come wake up, my man. It's all right,
Speaker 2: he's coming too. He's waking up. He did wake up,
Speaker 2: and that so suddenly as to take the party by surprise.
Speaker 2: He sprang upright on the plank, nothing on but an
Speaker 2: attenuated prison shirt, and glared at the officials with looks
Speaker 2: of unmistakable surprise.
Speaker 1: Oho, what's up? What's the meaning of this? Major Harding, replied,
Speaker 1: suspicion peeping from his eyes. That is what we want
Speaker 1: to know, Oh what we intend to know? What does
Speaker 1: it mean? Why aren't you in your cell? The man
Speaker 1: seemed for the first time to perceive where he was.
Speaker 1: Strike me lucky if I ate outside. Somebody must have
Speaker 1: took me out when I was asleep, then realizing in
Speaker 1: whose presence he was, I beg your pardon, sir, but
Speaker 1: someone's took me out. The one who took you out
Speaker 1: took all the others too. The major gave a side
Speaker 1: glance at warders Slater. That intelligent officer seemed to be
Speaker 1: suffering agonies. The prisoner glanced along the corridor. If all
Speaker 1: the blessed, a lot of them made out too. They
Speaker 1: were not only all out, but they were all in
Speaker 1: the same curiously trancelike sleep. Each man had to be
Speaker 1: separately roused, and each woke with the same startling, sudden
Speaker 1: bound No one seemed more surprised to find themselves where
Speaker 1: they were than the men themselves. And this was not
Speaker 1: the case in one ward only, but in all the
Speaker 1: wards in the prison. No wonder, the officials felt bewildered
Speaker 1: by the time they had gone the round. There's one
Speaker 1: thing certain, remarked Warder Slater to Warder Puffin, wiping the
Speaker 1: perspiration from his Warder Slater's brow. If I let them
Speaker 1: out in one ward, I couldn't hardly have let them
Speaker 1: out in all, Not to mention that I don't see
Speaker 1: how a man of my build's going to carry eight
Speaker 1: and forty men bed betting and all out bodily, and
Speaker 1: that without disturbing one of them from their sleep. As
Speaker 1: the official party was returning through b ward, inspecting the
Speaker 1: men who were standing at attention in their day cells,
Speaker 1: the officer in charge advanced to the Governor one man missing,
Speaker 1: Sir number twenty seven, Sir Mankell Sir the Chief orders started,
Speaker 1: if possible, he turned to shade more purple even than before,
Speaker 1: fetch me the key of the night cells. He said,
Speaker 1: it was brought. They went upstairs, the Major, the Governor,
Speaker 1: the Chief and second orders. Sure enough they found the
Speaker 1: missing man standing at attention in his night cell, waiting
Speaker 1: to be let out, the only man in the prison
Speaker 1: whom they had found in his place. The Chief warder
Speaker 1: unlocked him in silence. They followed him as he went downstairs.
Speaker 1: When the Major and mister Paley found themselves alone, both
Speaker 1: of them seemed a little bewildered. Well, Major, what do
Speaker 1: you think of it now? It's a got up thing.
Speaker 1: I'd stake my life. It's a got up thing.
Speaker 2: What do you mean?
Speaker 1: A got up thing? Some of the officers know more
Speaker 1: about it than they have chosen to say. That man slater,
Speaker 1: for instance. But I'll have the thing sifted to the
Speaker 1: bottom before I go. I never heard of anything more
Speaker 1: audacious in the whole of my career. The Governor smiled,
Speaker 1: but he made no comment on the Major's observation. It
Speaker 1: was arranged that an inquiry should be held after chapel.
Speaker 1: During chapel, the fresh subject was added to the list
Speaker 1: of those which already called for prompt inquiry. Probably there
Speaker 1: is no more delicate and difficult position than that of
Speaker 1: a prison chaplain. If any man doubts this, let him
Speaker 1: step into a prison chaplain's shoes and see. He must
Speaker 1: have two faces, and each face must look in an
Speaker 1: exactly opposite way. One towards authority. He is an official,
Speaker 1: an upholder of the law, and the other towards the
Speaker 1: defires of authority. He is the criminal's best friend. It
Speaker 1: requires the wisest of men to do this duty so
Speaker 1: as to please both sides. And he must please both
Speaker 1: sides or fail. As has already been hinted, mister Hewett,
Speaker 1: the chaplain of Canterstone Jail, was not the wisest of men.
Speaker 1: He was in the uncomfortable but not uncommon position of
Speaker 1: being disliked by both the rival houses. He meant well,
Speaker 1: but he was not an apt interpreter of his own meaning.
Speaker 1: He blundered, sometimes on the prisoner's toes and sometimes on
Speaker 1: the toes of the officials. Before the service began, the
Speaker 1: governor thought of giving him a lint, not in the
Speaker 1: course of it to touch on the events of the
Speaker 1: last two days. But previous hints of the same kind
Speaker 1: had not, by any means been well received, and he
Speaker 1: re framed exactly what he feared would happen happened. Both
Speaker 1: the inspector and the governor were present at the service.
Speaker 1: Possibly the chaplain supposed this to be an excellent opportunity
Speaker 1: of showing the sort of man he was, one full
Speaker 1: of zeal at any rate. Before the service was over,
Speaker 1: before pronouncing the benediction, he came down to the altar
Speaker 1: rail in a way they knew so well. The governor,
Speaker 1: outwardly unruffled, inwardly grong, I have something to say to you.
Speaker 1: When he said this, those who knew him knew exactly
Speaker 1: what was coming, or they thought they did, for for
Speaker 1: once in a way, they were grievously wrong. When the
Speaker 1: chaplain had got so far, he paused it was his
Speaker 1: habit to indulge in these eloquent pauses, but it was
Speaker 1: not his habit to behave as he immediately did. While
Speaker 1: they were waiting for him to go on, almost forecasting
Speaker 1: the words he would use, a spasm seemed to go
Speaker 1: all over him, and he clutched the rail and spoke.
Speaker 1: And what he said was this, bust the screws and blastom.
Speaker 1: The words were shouted rather than spoken in the very
Speaker 1: act of utterance. He clung onto the rail as though
Speaker 1: he needed its support to enable him to stand. The
Speaker 1: chapel was intensely still. The men stared at him as
Speaker 1: though unable to believe their eyes and ears. The chaplain
Speaker 1: was noted for his little eccentricities, but this was the
Speaker 1: first time they had taken such a shape as this.
Speaker 1: That's not what I meant to say. The words came
Speaker 1: out with a gasp. Mister Hewett put his hand up
Speaker 1: to his brow. That's not what I meant to say.
Speaker 1: He gave a frightened glance around. Suddenly his gaze became fixed,
Speaker 1: and he looked intently at some object right in front
Speaker 1: of him. His eyes assumed a dull and fish like stare.
Speaker 1: He hung onto the rail his surpliced fingers, trembling as
Speaker 1: with palsy. Words fell from his lips with feverish volubility.
Speaker 1: What's the good of his crew? I'd like to know.
Speaker 1: Did you ever know one who was worth his salt?
Speaker 1: I never did? Look at that beast slater, fat, great,
Speaker 1: fat brute? What did get a man three days bread
Speaker 1: and water? As soon as look at him, a little
Speaker 1: bread and water? Do him good? Look at old Murray,
Speaker 1: call a man like that the chief warder. I wonder
Speaker 1: what a chief warder, fathead's like. As for the governor,
Speaker 1: as for the governor, as for the governor. The chapel
Speaker 1: was in confusion. The officers rose in their seats. Mister
Speaker 1: Paley stood up in his pew, looking whiter than he
Speaker 1: was wont to do. It seemed as though the chaplain
Speaker 1: was struggling with an unseen antagonist. He writhed and twisted,
Speaker 1: contending as it were, with something or someone which appeared
Speaker 1: to be in front of him. His sentence remained unfinished.
Speaker 1: All at once, he collapsed, and, sinking into a heap,
Speaker 1: lay upon the steps of the altar. Still take the
Speaker 1: men out, said the governor's quiet voice. The men were
Speaker 1: taken out, the schoolmaster was already at the chaplain's side.
Speaker 1: With him were two or three of the prisoners who
Speaker 1: sang in the choir. The Governor and the Inspector came
Speaker 1: and looked down at the senseless man. Seems to be
Speaker 1: a sort of fit. The schoolmaster said, let someone go
Speaker 1: and see if the doctor has arrived. Ask him to
Speaker 1: come up here at once. With that, the Governor left
Speaker 1: the chapel, the inspector going with him. It's no good
Speaker 1: our staying. He'll be all right. I don't feel quite well.
Speaker 1: Major Harding looked at him shrewdly out of the corners
Speaker 1: of his eyes. Does he drink? Not that I'm aware of.
Speaker 1: I have never heard of it before, I should say,
Speaker 1: certainly not. Is he mad? No? He has his peculiarities,
Speaker 1: but he certainly is not mad. Is he subject to fits?
Speaker 1: I have not known of his having one before. When
Speaker 1: they reached the office, the Major began to pace about
Speaker 1: that chaplain of yours must be stark mad. If it's so,
Speaker 1: it's a very sudden attack. Did you hear what he said?
Speaker 1: Very well? Indeed, never heard such a thing in mind.
Speaker 1: Is he in the habit of using such language? Hardly? Perhaps?
Speaker 1: We had better leave it till we hear what the
Speaker 1: doctor says. Possibly there is some simple explanation. I am
Speaker 1: afraid the chaplain is unwell. If he isn't unwell, I
Speaker 1: don't know what he is Upon my word, Paley, I
Speaker 1: can't congratulate you upon the figure Canterston jail has cut
Speaker 1: during the past few days. I don't know what sort
Speaker 1: of a report I shall have to make. The governor winced.
Speaker 1: When a few minutes afterwards the doctor entered. He began
Speaker 1: upon the subject at once, how's the chaplain? Doctor? Doctor
Speaker 1: Livermore gave a curious glance about him. Then he shook
Speaker 1: hands with the inspector. Then he sat down, taking off
Speaker 1: his hat. He wiped his brow. Well, anything wrong, the
Speaker 1: chaplain says, he is bewitched. The governor looked at the
Speaker 1: and the inspector looked at him. Bewitched, said mister Paley,
Speaker 1: I told you the man was mad. The inspector muttered, hush.
Speaker 1: The doctor whispered, here he comes. Even as he spoke,
Speaker 1: the chaplain entered. Leaning on the Chief Warder's arm. He
Speaker 1: advanced to the table at which the governor sat, looking
Speaker 1: mister Paley steadily in the face. Mister Paley, I have
Speaker 1: to report to you that I have been bewitched. I
Speaker 1: am sorry to hear that. Mister Hewart, he could not
Speaker 1: resist a smile, though I am afraid I do not
Speaker 1: understand exactly what you mean. It is no laughing matter.
Speaker 1: The Chaplain's tone was cool and collected, more impressive than
Speaker 1: it used to be. The man, whose name I believe
Speaker 1: is Oliver Mankell, has bewitched me. He was the second
Speaker 1: man in the third row on my right hand side
Speaker 1: in the chapel. I could make out that his number
Speaker 1: was B twenty seven. He cast on me a spell.
Speaker 1: There was silence. Even the inspector felt that it was
Speaker 1: a delicate matter to accuse the chaplain outright of lunacy.
Speaker 1: An interruption came from an unexpected quarter, from the Chief Order.
Speaker 1: It's my belief that man Mankel's been up to his
Speaker 1: games about those cells. The interruption was the more remarkable
Speaker 1: because there was generally war, not always passive between the
Speaker 1: Chief Order and the chaplain. Everyone looked at mister Murray.
Speaker 1: What is this I hear about the cells, asked doctor Livermore.
Speaker 1: The governor answered, yesterday the men were all locked in
Speaker 1: their night cells. This morning. They were all locked out.
Speaker 1: That is, we found them all seemingly fast asleep, each
Speaker 1: man in front of his cell door. They were all
Speaker 1: locked in except one man, and that man was Mankel,
Speaker 1: and he was the only man who was not locked out.
Speaker 1: Thus the chief order. And do you suggest, said the
Speaker 1: doctor that he had a finger in the pie. It's
Speaker 1: my belief that he did it all directly. I set
Speaker 1: eyes upon that man. I knew there was something about him.
Speaker 1: I couldn't quite make out he did at all. Have
Speaker 1: you heard, sir, how he came to the gate. Mister
Speaker 1: Murray was in general a reticent man. It was not
Speaker 1: his way to express decided opinions in the presence of authorities,
Speaker 1: or indeed of anyone else. Mister Paley, who knew his man,
Speaker 1: eyed him with curiosity. What was there ought about that? Why?
Speaker 1: Instead of the constable bringing him, it was him who
Speaker 1: brought the constable. When they opened the gate, there was
Speaker 1: him with the policeman over his shoulder. In spite of
Speaker 1: mister Murray's evident earnestness, there were some of his hearers
Speaker 1: who were unable to repress a smile. Do you mean
Speaker 1: that the constable was drunk? That's the queer part of it.
Speaker 1: It was John Mitchell. I've known him for two and
Speaker 1: twenty years. I never knew him have a glass too
Speaker 1: much before I saw him soon afterwards he was all right. Then,
Speaker 1: he said he only had three half pints. He was
Speaker 1: quite himself till he got near the gate, when all
Speaker 1: of a sudden he went clear all over. Possibly the
Speaker 1: ale was drugged, suggested the doctor. I don't know anything
Speaker 1: about that, but I do know that the same hand
Speaker 1: that played that trick was the same hand that played
Speaker 1: the tricks with the cells. Consider a moment what you
Speaker 1: are saying, Murray, How are three hundred locks to be
Speaker 1: tampered with in the middle of the night by a
Speaker 1: man who is himself a prisoner? One moment? But even
Speaker 1: that is nothing compared to the feet of carrying three
Speaker 1: hundred men fast asleep in bed bed and all through
Speaker 1: three hundred closed doors under the very noses of the
Speaker 1: officers on guard. Think of doing all that single handed?
Speaker 1: It was witchcraft. When the Chief Order said this, Major
Speaker 1: Hardinge exploded witchcraft. The idea of the Chief Order of
Speaker 1: an English prison talking about witchcraft at this time of day,
Speaker 1: it's quite time you were superannuated sir, that man Mankel
Speaker 1: certainly bewitched me, bewitched you. As the Major faced the Chaplain,
Speaker 1: he seemed to find it difficult to restrain his feelings.
Speaker 1: May I ask what sort of idea you mean to
Speaker 1: convey by saying he be he whiched you. I will
Speaker 1: explain so far as I am able. Chaplin paused to
Speaker 1: collect his thoughts. All eyes were fixed upon him. I
Speaker 1: intended to say something to the man, touching the events
Speaker 1: of yesterday and this morning. As I came down to
Speaker 1: the altar rail, I was conscious of a curious sensation,
Speaker 1: as though I was being fascinated by a terrible gaze
Speaker 1: which was burning into my brain. I managed to pronounce
Speaker 1: the first few words involuntarily looking around, I met the
Speaker 1: eyes of the man Mankle. The instant I did so,
Speaker 1: I was conscious that something had passed from him to me,
Speaker 1: something that made my tongue utter the words you heard.
Speaker 1: Struggling with all my might, I momentarily regained the exercise
Speaker 1: of my own will. It was only for a mom moment,
Speaker 1: for in an instant he had mastered me again. Although
Speaker 1: I continued to struggle, my tongue uttered the words he
Speaker 1: bade it utter until I suppose my efforts to repel
Speaker 1: his dominion brought on a kind of fit that he
Speaker 1: laid on me, a spell. I am assured. There was
Speaker 1: a pause when the chaplain ceased that he had made
Speaker 1: what he supposed to be a plain and simple statement
Speaker 1: of facts was evident, But then the facts were remarkable ones.
Speaker 1: It was the doctor who broke the silence. Suppose we
Speaker 1: have the man in here so that we can put
Speaker 1: him through his facings. The governor stroked his beard. What
Speaker 1: are we going to say to him? You can hardly
Speaker 1: charge him with witchcraft. He's here because he has been
Speaker 1: pretending to magic powers. The doctor started, No, is that so? Then?
Speaker 1: I fancy we have the in a nutshell. That man
Speaker 1: is what old fashioned people used to call a mesmerist.
Speaker 1: Hypnotism they call it nowadays, and all sorts of things.
Speaker 1: But mesmeritism won't explain the selves. I'm not sure of
Speaker 1: that at any rate, it would explain the policeman who
Speaker 1: was suddenly taken Queer, let's have the man in here.
Speaker 1: The whole thing is balderdash, said the major with solemnity.
Speaker 1: I am surprised, as a man of sane and healthy
Speaker 1: mind to hear such stuff talked in an English prison today,
Speaker 1: at least there will be no harm in our interviewing.
Speaker 1: Mister Mankew Murray, see that they send him in here.
Speaker 1: The chief warder departed to do the governor's bidding. Mister
Speaker 1: Paley turned to the chaplain. According to you, mister Hewart,
Speaker 1: we are subjecting ourselves to some personal risk by bringing
Speaker 1: him here. Is that so? He may smile, mister Paley,
Speaker 1: But you may find it no laughing matter. After all,
Speaker 1: there are more things in heaven and earth than are
Speaker 1: dreamt of in man's philosophy. You don't mean to say,
Speaker 1: burst out the major, that you, a man of education,
Speaker 1: a clergyman chaplain of an English prison, believe in witchcraft.
Speaker 1: It's not a question of belief. It is a question
Speaker 1: of fact. That the man cast on me a spell.
Speaker 1: I am well assured. Take care that he does not
Speaker 1: do the same to you. The governor smiled, The doctor laughed.
Speaker 1: The enormity of the suggestion kept the major tongue tied
Speaker 1: till Mankell appeared end of Chapter two of the Strange
Speaker 1: Occurrences in Canterston Jail, Section six of amusement only. This
Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by roweg eleven amusement only by
Speaker 1: Richard marsh The Strange occurrences in Canterston Jail, Chapter three
Speaker 1: the singular behavior of the prison officials. Although Mankell was
Speaker 1: ushered in by the Chief Warder, he was in actual
Speaker 1: charge of Warder Slater. The apartment into which he was
Speaker 1: shown was not that in which prisoners ordinarily interviewed the governor. There,
Speaker 1: a cord stretched from wall to wall divided the room
Speaker 1: nearly in half. On one side stood the prisoner, with
Speaker 1: the officer in charge of him. On the other sat
Speaker 1: the Governor. Here there was no cord. The room, which
Speaker 1: was a small one, contained a single table. At one
Speaker 1: end sat mister Paley. On his right sat Major Hardinge.
Speaker 1: The chaplain stood at his left, and just behind the
Speaker 1: Major sat Doctor Livermore. Mankell was told to stand at
Speaker 1: the end which faced the governor. A momentary pause followed
Speaker 1: his entrance. All four pairs of eyes were examining his countenance. He,
Speaker 1: for his part, bore himself quite easily, his eyes being
Speaker 1: fixed upon the Governor, and about the corners of his
Speaker 1: lips hovered what was certainly more than the suspicion of
Speaker 1: a smile I have sent for you, mister Paley began
Speaker 1: because I wish to ask you a question. You understand
Speaker 1: that I make no charge against you, But do you
Speaker 1: know who has been tampering with the of the cells?
Speaker 1: The smile was unmistakable now it lightened up his saturnine visage,
Speaker 1: suggesting that here was a man who had an eye,
Speaker 1: possibly almost too keen, an eye for the ridiculous. But
Speaker 1: he gave no answer. Did you hear my question, Mankell?
Speaker 1: Do you know who has been tampering with the locks
Speaker 1: of the cells? Mankell extended his hands with a little
Speaker 1: graceful gesture which smacked of more southern climes. How shall
Speaker 1: I tell you? Tell the truth, sir, and don't treat
Speaker 1: any of us to your high falutin. This remark came
Speaker 1: from the Major, not into amiable a tone of voice.
Speaker 1: But in this land it would seem that truth is
Speaker 1: a thing that wise men shun. It is for telling
Speaker 1: the truth that I am here. We don't want any
Speaker 1: of your insolence. Mine, Anne answer the Governor's question if
Speaker 1: you don't want to be severely punished. Do you know
Speaker 1: who has been playing hanky with the cells? Spirits of
Speaker 1: the air. As he said this, Mankell inclined his head
Speaker 1: and looked at the Major with laughter in his eyes.
Speaker 1: Spirits of the air. What the devil do you mean
Speaker 1: by spirits of the air? Ah? What do I mean
Speaker 1: to tell you that laying stress upon the pronoun would
Speaker 1: take a year? The tholls, an insolent scoundrel, sputtered the Major. Come, Mankell,
Speaker 1: that won't do stuck in, mister Paley, do I understand
Speaker 1: you to say that you do know something about the matter. No,
Speaker 1: The man drew himself up, laying the index finger of
Speaker 1: his right hand upon the table with a curiously impressive air.
Speaker 1: What is there that I do not know? I see
Speaker 1: you still pretend, then, to the possession of magic powers? Pretend?
Speaker 1: Mankell laughed. He stretched out his hands in front of
Speaker 1: him with what seemed to be his favorite gesture, and
Speaker 1: laughed in the face of the authorities. Suppose you give
Speaker 1: us an example of your powers. The suggestion came from
Speaker 1: the doctor. The Major exploded, don't tuck stuff and nonsense.
Speaker 1: Give the man three days bread and water. That is
Speaker 1: what he wants. You do not believe in magic? Then
Speaker 1: Mankell turned to the major with his laughing eyes. What's
Speaker 1: the matter to you? What I believe? You may take
Speaker 1: my word for it that I don't believe in impudent
Speaker 1: muntebanks like you. The only reply Mankle gave was to
Speaker 1: raise his hand, if that might be called a reply
Speaker 1: in a way that we sometimes do when we call
Speaker 1: for silence. And there was silence in the room. All
Speaker 1: eyes were fixed upon the prisoner. He looked each in
Speaker 1: turn steadily in the face, then, still serenely smiling, he
Speaker 1: gently murmured, if you please. There was a silence, but
Speaker 1: only for a moment. It was broken by Warder Slater.
Speaker 1: That usually decorous officer tilted his cap to the back
Speaker 1: of his head and thrust his hands into his breeches pockets,
Speaker 1: hardly the regulation attitude in the presence of superiors. I
Speaker 1: should willman well like to know what that means here.
Speaker 3: I have been here in this jail eleven years and
Speaker 3: I've never been accused before of letting men out of
Speaker 3: their night cells, let alone.
Speaker 1: Their beds and bedding. And I don't like it, so
Speaker 1: I tell you straight. The Chief Warder turned with automatic
Speaker 1: suddenness towards the unexpectedly unusually plain spoken officer Slater. You're
Speaker 1: a fool. I'm not the only one in the place.
Speaker 1: There's more fools here besides me, and some of them
Speaker 1: bigger ones as well. While these compliments were being exchanged,
Speaker 1: the higher officials sat mutely looking on. When the Chief
Speaker 1: Warder seemed to be at a loss for an answer, the
Speaker 1: chaplain volunteered to remark. He addressed himself to Warder Slater,
Speaker 1: it's my opinion that the governor's a bigger fool than
Speaker 1: you are, and that the inspectors a still bigger fool
Speaker 1: than he is. It's my belief, mister Hugh, observed the doctor,
Speaker 1: that you're the biggest fool of all. It would serve
Speaker 1: him right, remarked the governor quietly. If somebody were to
Speaker 1: knock him down, knock him down, I should think it would,
Speaker 1: and kick him too. As he said this, the major
Speaker 1: glared at the chaplain with threatening eyes. There was silence
Speaker 1: again broken by ward Er Slater taking off his cap
Speaker 1: and then his tunic, which he folded up carefully and
Speaker 1: placed upon the floor, and turning his shirt sleeves up
Speaker 1: above his elbows, revealing as he did so, a pair
Speaker 1: of really gigantic arms. If any man says I let
Speaker 1: them out of the cells.
Speaker 3: I'm ready to fight that man, either for a gallon
Speaker 3: of beer or nothing. I don't care if it's the
Speaker 3: Inspector or who it is, I suspect, declared the chaplain
Speaker 3: that the inspector's too great a coward to take on.
Speaker 3: But if he does, I'm willing to back Slater for
Speaker 3: half a crown. I'm even prepared to second him. Putting
Speaker 3: his hands under his coat tails, the Chaplain looked up
Speaker 3: at the ceiling with the resolute air. If you do
Speaker 3: fight Slater, hardinge, I should certainly commence by giving the
Speaker 3: Chaplain a punch in the eye, so saying, the Governor
Speaker 3: leaned back in his chair and began drumming on the
Speaker 3: table with the tips of his fingers. The doctor rose
Speaker 3: from his seat. He gave the inspector a hearty slap
Speaker 3: on the back. Give him beans, he cried. You ought
Speaker 3: to be able to knock an overfed animal like Slater
Speaker 3: into the middle of next week before he's counted five.
Speaker 3: I've no quarrel with Slater. The inspector growled, and I've
Speaker 3: no intention of fighting him, but as the Chaplain seems
Speaker 3: to be so anxious for a row, I'll fight him
Speaker 3: with the greatest pleasure if there's going to be any fighting,
Speaker 3: interported the Chief warder. Don't you think i'd better get
Speaker 3: a couple of sponges and a pail of water, don't
Speaker 3: I don't know about the sponges, said the Governor. I
Speaker 3: don't fancy you will find any just at hand, but
Speaker 3: you might get a pail of water.
Speaker 1: I think the Chief warder left the room. I'm not
Speaker 1: a fighting man, the chaplain announced. In any case, I
Speaker 1: should decline to soil my hands by touching such an
Speaker 1: ill mannered ruffian as Major Hardede, I say, exclaimed the
Speaker 1: doctor hartage, You're not going to stand that. The Major
Speaker 1: sprang from his seat, tore off his coat and flung
Speaker 1: it to the ground with considerably less care than Warder
Speaker 1: Slater had done. He strode up to the chaplain beg
Speaker 1: my pardon or take a wicking. The Major clenched his fist.
Speaker 1: He assumed an attitude which, if not exactly reminiscent of
Speaker 1: the pets of the fancy, was at least intended to
Speaker 1: be pugilistic. The chaplain did not finch. You dare to
Speaker 1: lay a finger on me, you bullying blackguard. The major
Speaker 1: did dare he struck out, if not with considerable science,
Speaker 1: at any rate, with considerable execution. The Chaplain went down
Speaker 1: like a log. At that moment the chief warder entered
Speaker 1: the room. He had a pail of water in his
Speaker 1: hand for some reason which was not altogether plain. He
Speaker 1: threw its contents upon the chaplain as he lay on
Speaker 1: the floor. While these, considering the persons engage somewhat irregular
Speaker 1: proceedings had been taking place. Mankel remained motionless, his hand upraised,
Speaker 1: still with that smile upon his face. Now he lowered
Speaker 1: his hand. Thank you very much, he said. There was silence,
Speaker 1: a tolerably prolonged silence. While it lasted, a change seemed
Speaker 1: to be passing over the chief actors in the scene.
Speaker 1: They seemed to be waking with more or less rapidity
Speaker 1: to the fact that a certain incongruity characterized their actions
Speaker 1: and their language. There stood Warder Slater, apparently surprised and
Speaker 1: overwhelmed at the discovery that his hat and coat were off,
Speaker 1: and his shirt sleeves tucked up above his elbows. The
Speaker 1: Chief Warder, with the empty pail in his hand, presented
Speaker 1: a really ludicrous picture of amazement. He seemed quite unable
Speaker 1: to realize the fact that he had thrown the contents
Speaker 1: over the chaplain. The inspector's surprise appeared to be no
Speaker 1: less on finding that, in his pugilistic ardor he had
Speaker 1: torn off his coat and knocked the chaplain down. The
Speaker 1: doctor supporting him in the rear seemed to be taken
Speaker 1: a little aback. The Governor, smoothing his hair with his hand,
Speaker 1: seemed to be in a hopeless mist. It was the chaplain,
Speaker 1: who rose from the floor with his handkerchief to his nose,
Speaker 1: who brought it home to them that the scene which
Speaker 1: had just transpired had not been the grotesque imaginings of
Speaker 1: some waking dream. I call you to witness that Major
Speaker 1: Hardinge has struck me to the ground, and the Chief
Speaker 1: Warder has thrown on me a pail of water. What
Speaker 1: conduct may be expected from ignorant criminals when such is
Speaker 1: the behavior of those who are in charge of them,
Speaker 1: must be left for others to judge. They looked at
Speaker 1: one another. Their feelings were momentarily too deep for words.
Speaker 1: I think, suggested the Governor, in a quavering intonation. I
Speaker 1: think that this man had better be taken away Warder
Speaker 1: Slater picked up his hat and coaked, and left the room,
Speaker 1: Mankell walking quietly beside him. Mister Murray followed after, seeming
Speaker 1: particularly anxious to conceal the presence of the pale Mister Hewitt,
Speaker 1: still staunching the blood which flowed from his nose, fixed
Speaker 1: his eyes on the inspector. Made your hartage, if twenty
Speaker 1: four hours after this you are still an inspector of prisons,
Speaker 1: all England shall ring with your shame behind bureaucracy above
Speaker 1: it is the English press. The chaplain moved toward the
Speaker 1: door on the threat threshold. He paused, as for the
Speaker 1: Chief Warner, I shall commence by indicting him for assault.
Speaker 1: He took another step and paused again. Nor shall I
Speaker 1: forget that the Governor aided and abetted the inspector, and
Speaker 1: that the doctor egged him on. Then the chaplain disappeared.
Speaker 1: His disappearance was followed by what might be described as
Speaker 1: an abject silence. The Governor eyed his colleagues furtively. At last,
Speaker 1: he stammered out of question, well, Major, what do you
Speaker 1: think of this, the Major sank into a chair, expressing
Speaker 1: his thoughts by a gasp. Mister Paley turned his attention
Speaker 1: to the doctor. What do you say, doctor, I say nothing,
Speaker 1: I suppose, murmured the Major, in what seemed to be
Speaker 1: the ghost of his natural voice. That I did knock
Speaker 1: him down. The doctor seemed to have something to say
Speaker 1: on that point. At any rate, knock him down, I
Speaker 1: should think you did like a log of wood. The
Speaker 1: Major glanced at the Governor. Mister Paley shook his head.
Speaker 1: The Major grown. The Governor began to be a little agitated.
Speaker 1: Something must be done. It is out of the question
Speaker 1: that such a scandal should be allowed to go out
Speaker 1: into the world. I do not hesitate to say that
Speaker 1: if the chaplain sends into the Commissioners the report which
Speaker 1: he threatens to send, the situation will be to the
Speaker 1: last degree unpleasant for all of us. The point is
Speaker 1: observed the doctor. Are we, collectively and individually subject to
Speaker 1: periodical attacks of temporary insanity? Speaking for myself, I should say,
Speaker 1: certainly not. Livermore turned on the Governor, then perhaps you
Speaker 1: will suggest a hypothesis which will reasonably account for what
Speaker 1: has just occurred. The Governor was silent unless you are
Speaker 1: prepared to seek for a cause in the regions of phenomena.
Speaker 1: Supposing murmured the major there is such a thing as witchcraft.
Speaker 1: After all, we should have the Psychical Research Society down
Speaker 1: on us if we had nobody else, if we appended
Speaker 1: our names to a confession of faith. The doctor thrust
Speaker 1: his thumbs into his waistcoat armholes, and I should lose
Speaker 1: every patient I have. There was a tapping at the door.
Speaker 1: In response to the Governor's invitation. The Chief Warder entered.
Speaker 1: In general, there was in mister Murray's bearing a not
Speaker 1: distant suggestion of an inflated bantamcock or powder pigeon. It
Speaker 1: was curious to observe how anything in the shape of
Speaker 1: inflation was absent. Now he touched his hat to the Governor,
Speaker 1: his honest, rubicun somewhat pugnacious face, eloquent of the weight
Speaker 1: that was on his mind. Excuse me, sir, I said
Speaker 1: he was a witch. You're saying that he was a
Speaker 1: witch or a wizard, remarked the Governor dryly. Will not
Speaker 1: I fear be sufficient excuse in the eyes of the
Speaker 1: commissioners for your throwing a pail of water over the chaplain.
Speaker 1: But a man's not answerable for what he does when
Speaker 1: he's bewitched, persisted the Chief Warder with characteristic sturdiness. It
Speaker 1: is exactly that reflection which has constrained me to return.
Speaker 1: They looked up. There was the chaplain standing in the doorway,
Speaker 1: still with his handkerchief to his nose. Mister Murray, you
Speaker 1: threw a pail of water over me. If you assert
Speaker 1: that you did it under the influence of witchcraft, I,
Speaker 1: who have myself been under a spell, am willing to
Speaker 1: excuse you. Mister he ort, Sir, you yourself, no, I
Speaker 1: was bewitched. I do as I believe it of myself. Murray,
Speaker 1: give me your hand. The Chaplain and the Chief Warder
Speaker 1: solemnly shook hands. There is an end of the matter
Speaker 1: as it concerns us too, Major Hardinge, do I understand
Speaker 1: you to assert that you too were under the influence
Speaker 1: of witchcraft? This was a rather delicate inquiry to address
Speaker 1: to the major. Apparently the Major seemed to find it so.
Speaker 1: I don't know about witchcraft, he growled. But I am
Speaker 1: prepared to take my oath in any court in England
Speaker 1: that I had no more intention of striking you than
Speaker 1: I had of breaking the moon. That is sufficient, Major Heartage,
Speaker 1: I forgive you from my heart. Perhaps you too will
Speaker 1: take my hand. The Major took it rather awkwardly, much
Speaker 1: more awkwardly than the chief warder had done. When the
Speaker 1: chaplain relinquished it, he turned aside, and, picking up his coat,
Speaker 1: began to put it on scarcely with that air of
Speaker 1: dignity which is proper to a prison inspector. I presume,
Speaker 1: continued mister Hewett, that we all allow that what has
Speaker 1: occurred has been owing to the malign influence of that man,
Speaker 1: Oliver Mankell. There was silence. Apparently they did not all
Speaker 1: allow it. Even yet it was a pill to swallow. Hypnotism,
Speaker 1: muttered the doctor half a side hypnotism. I believe that word,
Speaker 1: simply its expresses some sort of mesmeric power. Hardly a
Speaker 1: sufficient explanation in the present case, I would suggest, Major Hardinge,
Speaker 1: interposed the Governor, all theorizing a sign that the man
Speaker 1: be transformed to another prison at the earliest possible moment.
Speaker 1: He shall be transferred tomorrow, affirmed the Major. If there
Speaker 1: is anything mister Hewitt's suggestion, the fellow shall have a
Speaker 1: chance to prove it in some other jail. Oh, good,
Speaker 1: lord good, he's killing me. Who hardage, exclaimed the doctor.
Speaker 1: What's the matter now? There seemed to be something the matter.
Speaker 1: The Major had been delivering himself in his most pompously
Speaker 1: official manner. Suddenly he put his hands to the pit
Speaker 1: of his stomach and began to cry out, as if
Speaker 1: in an ecstasy of pain. His official manner altogether gone.
Speaker 1: He'll murder me. I know you will murder you. Who manko.
Speaker 1: Oddly enough, I too, was conscious of a very curious sensation.
Speaker 1: As he said this, The Governor wiped the cold dew
Speaker 1: of perspiration from his brow. He seemed unnaturally white. As
Speaker 1: he adjusted his spectacles. There was an odd, tremulous appearance
Speaker 1: about his eyes. It was because you spoke of transferring
Speaker 1: him to some other jail. The Chaplain's tone was solemn.
Speaker 1: He dislikes the idea of being trifled with. The Major
Speaker 1: resented a suggestion trifled with. He seems uncommonly fond of
Speaker 1: trifling with other people, confound the man. Oh ooh. The
Speaker 1: Major sprang from the floor with an exclamation which amounted
Speaker 1: to a positive yell. They looked each other in the face,
Speaker 1: Each man seemed a little paler than his wont something
Speaker 1: must be done, The governor gasped. The chaplain made a proposition,
Speaker 1: I propose that we summon him into our presence and
Speaker 1: inquire of him what he wishes us to do. The
Speaker 1: proposition was not received with acclamation. They probably felt that
Speaker 1: a certain amount of complication might be expected to ensue
Speaker 1: if such inquiries began to be addressed to prisoners. I
Speaker 1: think I'll go my rounds, observed the doctor. This matter
Speaker 1: scarcely concerns me. I wish you, gentlemen, well out of it.
Speaker 1: He reached out his hand to take his hat, which
Speaker 1: he had placed upon a chair. As he did so,
Speaker 1: the hat appeared, and a small brown terrier dog appeared
Speaker 1: in its place. The dog barked viciously at the outstretched hand.
Speaker 1: The doctor started back, just in time to escape its teeth.
Speaker 1: The dog disappeared. There was the hat again. The appearance
Speaker 1: was but momentary, but it was nonetheless suggestive on that account.
Speaker 1: The doctor seemed particularly affected. We must all have been
Speaker 1: drinking if we are taking to seeing things, he cried.
Speaker 1: I think, suggested the chaplain, almost in a whisper, that
Speaker 1: we had better inquire what it is he wishes us
Speaker 1: to do. There was silence. We all have clear consciences. There,
Speaker 1: there is no reason why we should be afraid where
Speaker 1: we're not afraid, gasped the Governor. I don't think you
Speaker 1: are titled tune first. It's a thing. The major stammeringly
Speaker 1: supported him. Oh, oh, of course, we were not afraid.
Speaker 1: The the idea is preposterously absurd, still, said the doctor.
Speaker 1: A man doesn't care to have hanky panky tricks played
Speaker 1: with his top hat. There was a pause of considerable duration.
Speaker 1: It was again broken by the chaplain. Don't you think,
Speaker 1: mister Paley, that we had better send for this man?
Speaker 1: Apparently mister Paley did Murray. He said, go and see
Speaker 1: that he has sent here. Mister Murray went, not too willingly.
Speaker 1: Still he went the end of chapter three of The
Speaker 1: Strange Occurrences in Canterston Jail, Section seven of Amusement Only.
Speaker 1: This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by roweg eleven. Amusement Only
Speaker 1: by Richard marsh The Strange Occurrences in Canterston Jail, Chapter four,
Speaker 1: The circumstances under which the Officials of Canterston Jail presented
Speaker 1: mister Mankell with a testimonial. Oliver Mankell was again in
Speaker 1: the charge of Warder Slater. Warder Slater looked very queer. Indeed,
Speaker 1: he actually seemed to have lost in bulk. The same
Speaker 1: phenomena was observable in the chief warder, who followed close
Speaker 1: upon the prisoner's heels. Mankell seemed, as ever, completely at
Speaker 1: his ease. There was again a suspicion of a smile
Speaker 1: in his eyes and about the corners of his lips.
Speaker 1: His bearing was in striking contrast to that of the officials.
Speaker 1: His self possession in the presence of their evident uneasiness,
Speaker 1: gave him the appearance in a sense of being a
Speaker 1: giant among pigmies. Yet the Major at least was in
Speaker 1: every way a bigger man than he was. There was
Speaker 1: silence as he entered, a continuation of that silence which
Speaker 1: had prevailed until he came. The Governor fumbled with the
Speaker 1: paper knife which was in front of him. The Inspector,
Speaker 1: leaning forward in his chair, seemed engrossed by his boots.
Speaker 1: The doctor kept glancing perhaps unconsciously at his hat. The chaplain,
Speaker 1: though conspicuously uneasy, seemed to have his wits about him
Speaker 1: the most. It was he who temporarily usurping the governor's functions.
Speaker 1: Rest the prisoner. Your name is Oliver Mankell. The prisoner
Speaker 1: merely smiled. Are you sentenced to three months hard labor?
Speaker 1: The prisoner smiled again for pretending to tell fortunes. The
Speaker 1: smile became more pronounced. The chaplain cleared his throat. Oliver Mankell,
Speaker 1: I am a clergyman. I know that there are such
Speaker 1: things as good and evil. I know that, for causes
Speaker 1: which are hidden from me, the Almighty may permit evil
Speaker 1: to take visible shape and walk abroad upon the earth.
Speaker 1: But I also know that though evil may destroy my body,
Speaker 1: it cannot destroy my soul. The chaplain pulled up his
Speaker 1: words and manner, though evidently sincere, were not particularly impressive.
Speaker 1: While they evidently had the effect of increasing his colleagues
Speaker 1: on easiness, they only had the effect of enlarging the
Speaker 1: prisoner's smile. When he was about to continue, the governor interposed,
Speaker 1: I think, mister Hewitt, if you will permit me, Mankell,
Speaker 1: I am not a clergyman. The prisoner's smile almost degenerated
Speaker 1: into a grin. I have sent for you for the
Speaker 1: second time this morning to ask you, frankly, if you
Speaker 1: have any reason to complain of your treatment. Here, the
Speaker 1: prisoner stretched out his hands with his familiar gesture, Have
Speaker 1: you any complaint to make? Is there anything within the
Speaker 1: range of prison rules you would wish me to do
Speaker 1: for you? Again, the hands went out, Then tell me,
Speaker 1: quite candidly, what is the cause of your behavior? When
Speaker 1: the governor ceased, the prisoner seemed to be considering what
Speaker 1: answer he should make, then inclining his head with that
Speaker 1: almost saturnine grace. If one may coin a phrase which
Speaker 1: seemed to accompany every movement he made. Sir, what have
Speaker 1: I done? He asked? Er. We don't dwell upon that.
Speaker 1: The question is, what did you do it? For? It
Speaker 1: is perhaps within your recollection, sir, that I have my
Speaker 1: reputation to redeem my character, to reinstate your character. What
Speaker 1: do you mean In the first interview with which you
Speaker 1: favored me, I ventured to observe that it would be
Speaker 1: my endeavor, during my sojourn within these walls, to act
Speaker 1: upon the advice the magistrate tendered me. What The governor faltered.
Speaker 1: What advice was that? He said, I claimed to be
Speaker 1: a magician. He advised me, for my character's sake, to
Speaker 1: prove it during my sojourn here, I see, And you're
Speaker 1: trying to prove it for your character's sake. For my
Speaker 1: character's sake, I am but beginning, you perceive, Oh you're
Speaker 1: but beginning. You call this but beginning? Do you? May?
Speaker 1: I ask if you have any intention of going on? Oh, sir,
Speaker 1: I have still nearly the whole three months in front
Speaker 1: of me until my term expires. I shall go on
Speaker 1: with gathering strength unto the end. As he said this,
Speaker 1: Mankell drew himself up in such a way that it
Speaker 1: almost seemed as though some inches were added to his stature.
Speaker 1: You will, will you well? You seem to be a
Speaker 1: pleasant kind of man. The criticism seemed to have been
Speaker 1: extracted from the governor, almost against his will. He looked
Speaker 1: round upon his colleagues with what could only be described
Speaker 1: as a ghastly grin. Have you any objections? Mankell? To
Speaker 1: be transferred to another prison, sir. The prisoner's voice rang out,
Speaker 1: and his hearers started perceptibly. Perhaps that was because their
Speaker 1: nerves were already so disorganized. It was here I was sent.
Speaker 1: It is here I must remain until the end. The
Speaker 1: governor took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. I'm
Speaker 1: bound to tell you, Mankel, judging from the experiences of
Speaker 1: the last two days, if this sort of thing is
Speaker 1: to continue with gathering strength, the end will not be long.
Speaker 1: The prisoner seemed lost in reflection. The officials seemed lost
Speaker 1: in reflection too, but their reflections were probably of a
Speaker 1: different kind. There is one suggestion I might offer. Let's
Speaker 1: have it. By all means, we have reached the point
Speaker 1: at which we shall be glad to receive any suggestion
Speaker 1: from you. You might give me a testimonial. Give you
Speaker 1: a what you might give me a testimonial? The governor
Speaker 1: looked at the prisoner, then at his friends. A testimonial,
Speaker 1: might we indeed, what sort of testimonial do you allude to?
Speaker 1: You might testify that I had regained my reputation, redeemed
Speaker 1: my character, that I had proved to your entire satisfaction,
Speaker 1: that I was the magician I claimed to be. The
Speaker 1: governor leaned back in his seat. Your suggestion has at
Speaker 1: least the force of novelty. I should like to search
Speaker 1: the registers of remarkable cases to know if such an
Speaker 1: application has ever been made to the governor of an
Speaker 1: English jail before. But what do you say, Hardinge? The
Speaker 1: Major shuffled in his chair. I think I must return
Speaker 1: to town. The prisoner smiled. The Major winced that fellows
Speaker 1: me to my chair. He gasped. He appeared to be
Speaker 1: making futile efforts to rise from his seat. You cannot
Speaker 1: return to town. Dismiss the idea from your mind. The
Speaker 1: Major only groaned. He took out his handkerchief and wiped
Speaker 1: his brow. The governor looked up from the paper knife
Speaker 1: with which he was again trifling. Am I to understand
Speaker 1: that the testimonials to take the shape of a voluntary offering?
Speaker 1: Oh sir, of what value? Was a testimonial which is
Speaker 1: not voluntary? Quite so? How do you suggest to be worded?
Speaker 1: May I ask you for paper, pens and ink. The
Speaker 1: prisoner bent over the table and wrote on the paper
Speaker 1: which was handed him. What he had written. He passed
Speaker 1: to the Governor. Mister Paley found inscribed in a beautifully
Speaker 1: fair round hand, as clear as copperplate, the following testimonial.
Speaker 1: The undersigned persons present their compliments to Colonel Gregory. Oliver Mankell,
Speaker 1: sentenced by Colonel Gregory to three months hard labor, has
Speaker 1: been in Canterston Jail two days. That short space of
Speaker 1: time has, however, convinced them that Colonel Gregory acted wrongly
Speaker 1: in distrusting his magic powers and so casting a stain
Speaker 1: upon his character. This is to testify that he has proved,
Speaker 1: to the entire satisfaction of the undersigned Inspector of Prisons
Speaker 1: and officials of Canterston Jail, that he is a magician
Speaker 1: of quite the highest class. The signatures of all those
Speaker 1: present should be placed at the bottom, observed the prisoner
Speaker 1: as the Governor was reading the testimonial. Apparently at a
Speaker 1: loss for words with which to comment upon the paper
Speaker 1: he had read, the Governor handed it to the Inspector.
Speaker 1: The Major shrank from taking it. I'd rather not, he mumbled,
Speaker 1: I think you'd better read it, said the Governor, thus
Speaker 1: urged the Major did read it, good Lord, He gasped,
Speaker 1: and passed it to the doctor. The doctor, silently, having
Speaker 1: read it, passed it to the chaplain. I will read
Speaker 1: it aloud, said mister Hewitt. He did so for the benefit,
Speaker 1: probably of Slater and mister Murray. Supposing we were to
Speaker 1: sign that document, what would you propose to do with it?
Speaker 1: Inquired the Governor. I should convey it to Colonel Gregory. Indeed,
Speaker 1: in that case he would have as high an opinion
Speaker 1: of our characters as of yours and yourself. What sort
Speaker 1: of action might we expect from you? I should go?
Speaker 1: The Governor's jaw dropped. Go. Now, would you my character regained? For?
Speaker 1: What have I to stop? Exactly? What have you? There's
Speaker 1: that point of view, no doubt. Well, mister Mankell, we
Speaker 1: will think the matter over. The prisoner dropped his hands
Speaker 1: to his sides, looking the governor steadily in the face. Sir,
Speaker 1: I conceive that answer to convey a negative. The proposition
Speaker 1: thus refused will not be made again. It only remains
Speaker 1: for me to continue earnestly my endeavors to retrieve my
Speaker 1: character until the three months are at an end. The
Speaker 1: chaplain was holding the testimonial loosely between his finger and thumb,
Speaker 1: stretching out his arm. Mankell pointed at it with his hand.
Speaker 1: It was immediately in flames, the chaplain releasing it. It
Speaker 1: was consumed to ashes before it reached the floor, returning
Speaker 1: to face the Governor again. The prisoner laid his right
Speaker 1: hand palm downwards on the table. Spirits of the air
Speaker 1: in whose presence I now stand, I ask you if
Speaker 1: I am not justified in whatever I may do. His
Speaker 1: voice was very musical. His upturned eyes seemed to pierce
Speaker 1: through the ceiling to what there was beyond. The room
Speaker 1: grew darker. There was a rumbling in the air. The
Speaker 1: ground began to shake. The chaplain, who was caressing the
Speaker 1: hand which had been scorched by the flames, burst out
Speaker 1: with what was for him a passionate appeal. Mister Mankell,
Speaker 1: you are over hasty. I was about to explain, I
Speaker 1: should esteem it quite an honor to sign your testimonial.
Speaker 1: So should I, upon my soul, as should declared the Major.
Speaker 1: There's nothing I wouldn't do to oblige you, mister Mankell,
Speaker 1: stammered the Chief Warder. Same ear cried Warders Slater. You
Speaker 1: are really too rapid and arriving at conclusions, mister Mankell,
Speaker 1: remarked the Governor. I do beg you not to suppose
Speaker 1: there was any negative intention. The darkness, the rumbling, and
Speaker 1: the shaking ceased as suddenly as they began. The prisoner smiled.
Speaker 1: Perhaps I was too hasty, he confessed. It is an
Speaker 1: error which can easily be rectified. He raised his hand.
Speaker 1: A piece of paper fluttered from the ceiling. It fell
Speaker 1: upon the table. It was the testimonial your signature. Major
Speaker 1: Hardinge should head the list. I'd rather somebody else signed first.
Speaker 1: That would never do. It is for you to lead
Speaker 1: the van. You are free to leave your seat. The
Speaker 1: Major left his seat, apparently not rejoicing in his freedom.
Speaker 1: He wrote, William Hardage, in great sprawling characters, add Inspector
Speaker 1: of Prisons. The Major added, Inspector of Prisons, with a
Speaker 1: very rueful countenance. Mister Paley, it is your turn. Mister
Speaker 1: Paley took his turn, with a really tolerable imitation of
Speaker 1: being both ready and willing, acting upon the hint which
Speaker 1: had been given the Major. He added, governor of his
Speaker 1: own accord. Now, doctor, it is you. The doctor thrust
Speaker 1: his hands into his trousers pocket. I'll sign if you
Speaker 1: tell me how it is done. Tell you how it
Speaker 1: is done? How what is done? How you do that?
Speaker 1: Hanky panky? Of course, hanky panky. The prisoner drew himself
Speaker 1: straight up. Is it possible that you suspect me of
Speaker 1: hanky panky. Yes, sir, I will show you how it's done.
Speaker 1: If you wish it, you shall be torn asunder where
Speaker 1: you stand. Thank you, you needn't trouble. I'll sign. He signed.
Speaker 1: The chaplain shook his head and sighed. I always placed
Speaker 1: a literal interpretation on the twenty eighth chapter of the
Speaker 1: First Book of Samuel. It is singular how my faith
Speaker 1: is justified. The chief warder placed his spectacles upon his nose,
Speaker 1: where they seemed uneasy, and made quite a business of signing.
Speaker 1: And such was Warder Slater's agitation that he could scarcely
Speaker 1: sign at all. But at last the testimonial was complete.
Speaker 1: The prisoner smiled as he carefully folded it in two.
Speaker 1: I will convey it to Colonel Gregory, he said. It
Speaker 1: is a gratification to me to have been able to
Speaker 1: retrieve my character in so short a space of time.
Speaker 1: They watched him, a little spellbound, perhaps, And as they
Speaker 1: watched him, even before their eyes behold he was gone.
Speaker 1: The end of chapter four of the Strange Occurrences in
Speaker 1: Canterston Jail