“I … I know that he was quite instrumental in getting me this post,” said he, faltering for the first time. ”And for that I am still grateful, though a little less, perhaps, today than when I received the appointment.”
“What have been your relations with this man Eccles?”
“Not good, I should say. As Chief Customs Officer for this part of Kent, he has at his disposal a considerable force of men-over sixty at Dover Castle, where he has his headquarters, and more scattered in various towns up and down the coast.”
“How many in Deal?”
“Twenty, I believe. They are quartered at Deal Castle and report to the local customs officer, a man with whom I’ve cultivated good relations. My difficulties have been with his chief.”
He hesitated, frowned, and traced a pattern upon the desktop with his finger as he sought words to continue.
“Like most country magistrates, I have but two constables at my command,” said he, resuming. ”You, I believe, have a greater force-the Bow Street Runners, they are called.”
“I have been fortunate in that regard, yes, and that is because those in the government who apportion money wish to feel themselves safe in London,” said Sir John, ”And by the bye, though my constables be greater in number, they can never be sufficient to the task. London, it seems, will never be truly safe.”
“Be that as it may, sir, would you care to hazard a guess as to how many here in my jurisdiction in Deal are involved in the smuggling trade?”
“I couldn’t possibly put a number on it.”
”No less,” said Mr. Sarton, pausing for effect, ”than two hundred.”
It took Sir John a moment to respond. ”So many? I had not thought it could be so many.”
“I trust the figure,” said the young magistrate, ”for it was given me by the local customs officer, who grew up in Deal and has helped me on numerous occasions in ways his chief, Eccles, would never do.”
“Yes, Eccles-let us get back to you and your difficulties with him.”
“Yes, of course. Because these two constables are expected to keep order in the town and enforce the laws of the realm, et cetera, they are an insufficient number, pitifully insufficient, to do much to put down the smuggling trade here in this district. I saw that immediately I came here. And so I journeyed off to Dover to ask Mr. Eccles’s aid in patrolling the beaches known to be used by the smugglers. He said no, it was out of the question, for there was work enough to be done in the Dover area. But surely, said I, he could spare us at least a part of the force of customs men quartered here in Deal. Again no, said Mr. Eccles, for they had their duties to perform and could not be spared from them. There was no arguing with the man-I tried, but to no avail. He simply would give me no help whatever. And now, I learn from you, Sir John, that he has had the cold gall to accuse me of incompetence or corruption in the discharge of my duties.”
Mr. Sarton ended somewhat breathless. He could say little more in his own defense. And to me it seemed that little more need be said. Indeed I wondered if we might not return to London this very day. But Sir John seemed to have more in mind.
“Have you had no success in combating … what is it they call it here?”
“The owling trade. Yes, I have had-just once. It came through a tip given me by Sir Simon Grenville. He had heard through his servants at the manor house of the scheduled arrival of a shipment from France of wines and brandy on a certain night of the new moon. They made the crossing in one of those galleys which are built on the quiet right in Deal. I understand that they can make it here from Dunkirk, with twenty men rowing, in five hours’ time. They have a shallow draft and can land upon Goodwin Sands or most of the other beaches in the district. And with so many men working, they can be unloaded in no time at all. So there was no point trying to confront them on the beach. We three-my two constables and me-would have been hopelessly out-manned and out-gunned.”
He was warming to the subject, putting a good deal of drama into the telling of his tale.
“That was wise of you,” said Sir John. ”What then did you do?”
“Why, we waited till their two wagons were loaded and had started up the hill, and the galley was departed from the beach. We kept our silence and were well hidden, for we sorely needed the advantage that surprise would give us. We were but three in number, after all. We waited and waited and waited until they were just upon us.”
Reader, I had become acutely aware of the clock that hung upon the wall behind Mr. Sarton. According to it, I had barely five minutes in which to locate the Good King George in High Street, where I was to meet Mr. Perkins and hear his first report. How could I leave gracefully if Mr. Sarton insisted upon spinning out his story to absurd lengths? Would he never reach the conclusion?
But then, rather abruptly, he did end it: ”And then we jumped out at them and upon their wagons and persuaded them to stop.”
That, it seemed to me, was a weak ending to a strong story. Why had he cut it short? Then did I note the quick footsteps in the hall and saw how our host turned his attention past Sir John and me to the door that lay between us. I turned my attention to it just in time to see the putative Mrs. Sarton appear. She carried a tray, and upon it were three cups and a steaming pot which I took to be filled with dark tea a-brewing. Best of all, I spied a plate of sweet cakes and all manner of dainties, near as tempting to the eye as they would be to the palate. Her husband rose, as did Sir John and I.
“You two have already met my wife, Margaret, I believe.”
“We have,” said Sir John, with a stiff little bow, ”and a pleasure it was indeed.”
“Ah, you’re too kind, sir,” said she to him. ”I’ve just brought along some tea and cakes for all. I believe that talk goes better on a full stomach, don’t you?”
“Absolutely certain of it,” said Sir John.
She placed the tray upon her husband’s desk and busied herself pouring tea.
I realized that I now had my opportunity to leave. ”None for me, thank you.”
“Oh? And what would you prefer, young sir?” asked Mr. Sarton. ”Milk perhaps?”
“No, nothing at all. I’ve a matter to attend to on Sir John’s behalf. It should not take more than an hour.”
“Well then, be on your way. Quick to depart, quick to return.”
“I’ll show you out,” said Mrs. Sarton. ”But before I do, I would like to say to you, Sir John, and to you, young sir, that I have often heard that story told before by Albert-the one that he was telling just before I came in. But there is part of it that he always neglects to include at the end of it.”
“And what is that, Mrs. Sarton?” asked Sir John, clearly curious at what she might reveal.
“What Berty, that is, Albert, never tells is that he was badly wounded in the arm by a pistol ball. It shattered the bone, and it looked for a time that he might lose the use of that left arm altogether. I’ve asked him again and again to promise that he will take part no more in such battles, but so far I’ve yet to squeeze such a promise out of him.”
“Please, Molly,” said he, ”I can make no such promise. I’m sure Sir John understands that.”
“Well, whether he does or don’t, I intend to keep working until I get it from you, Berty.” Then, turning her attention to me: ”Come along, Mr. Proctor, if that’s your name. Oh, and at least take with you a cake or two. I made them myself, and so I know they’re good.”
I took her at her word, grabbed a scone, and was then ushered out of the room and to the street door. I asked her the way to the George in High Street, and as she gave directions, which were quite simple enough, I noted that her eyes glistened as though she might weep. Nonetheless, she managed to get the locks off and push me out the door before tears fell.
The scone was quite the best I had ever eaten.
I found Mr. Perkins in the taproom of the inn, where ale and beer flowed freely. The bar was crowded with raw and boisterous men of every description who seemed to have little in c
ommon but their loud speech and their thirst for malt. They stood cheek-by-jowl, howling and shouting each at the other. I could scarce believe it was no more than midday and could not but wonder what the place might be like at midnight. No, he was not at the bar. I wandered round in search of him at one of the tables placed along the wall and found him at that which was farthest. All was as expected. What I had not foreseen, however, was that Mr. Perkins would be sitting in the company of another. I thought at first glance he might wish me to stay away; but no, he pointed me out to the man with whom he shared the table, and then waved me over.
I was not in a good position to see the face of the stranger until he turned to look at me. He was a man of about the same age as Mr. Perkins, tall and lean (somehow that was obvious, even though he maintained his sitting posture), with what appeared to be a saber scar across his left cheek. As I drew closer, I saw that he was smiling at me, though only with the right side of his mouth.
“Jeremy, meet an old friend of mine from bygone days, name of Dick Dickens.”
Dickens reached across the. table, offering his hand as I sat down. Mr. Perkins passed on to me a broad and most obvious wink. I gave a manly squeeze to the hand and a proper nod to the constable, signaling my understanding: I would follow his lead.
“What say you, Jeremy,” said the constable, ”have they kept you hopping to their tune?”
I shook my head in the negative. ”Nah, ‘tan’t so,” said I to him, effecting the manner of speech of a Covent Garden lay-about. ”It’s mostly just waitin’ for when we’re needed.”
“It was Jeremy got me the ride down here,” said he to Dickens.
“In a gentleman’s coach? That an’t half bad.”
“No, it was on a gentleman’s coach. You think you’d like to go bouncing about on your arse, just hangin’ on for dear life atop a coach with four horses at full gallop-you think that, then you’re welcome to my space back to London.”
“No, but I thank you all the same,” said Dickens with a chuckle.
At last did I remember whence I knew that name, Dickens. It was Dick Dickens who figured so prominent in Mr. Perkins’s tale of his life in the owling trade. He had enlisted him all those years ago. By luck or by cleverness, Constable Perkins had made direct contact with the smugglers.
“Which gentleman is it has the coach?” asked Dickens.
The question seemed to be directed at me, yet I was unsure how I should answer. Thus was I relieved when Mr. Perkins came forth with the information-false information as it happened.
”It belongs to John Fielding, a knight by the pleasure of King George.”
“Sir John Fielding, is it?” said Dickens. ”An’t he the blind magistrate there in Covent Garden?”
“That’s the one.”
“You work for him? Don’t tell me you’re a constable!”
“Do I look like a constable?” said Mr. Perkins. ”You ever see one with just one arm?”
“No, I don’t guess I ever did.”
“I’m his dogsbody.”
“What’s that?”
“I do whatever I’m told to. Fetch what needs to be fetched, carry messages back and forth, just an errand boy, really.”
“And what about you, lad? What do you do for the blind magistrate of Bow Street?”
“Just a footman,” said I.
“Ah well,” said Dickens. ”We all got to start somewhere, don’t we?” He then rose and said something that struck me as strange: ”I must get back to the castle.” He shook hands once again and bade us goodbye, leaving near a full half-pint of ale at his place at the table.
Once he was out of earshot, I turned to Constable Perkins and in a voice so quiet it may as well have been a whisper, I said to him, ”That was the Dick Dickens you told us about, wasn’t it? The one who got you into the smuggling trade?”
“That’s who it was, Jeremy, and I was quite amazed when he walked into this place not long before you came along. I recognized him right away-he’s not changed all that much-but he more than recognized me.”
That seemed odd. ”What do you mean?”
“Well, he came up to me right away, like he knew that I was here-and maybe he did.”
Again, he had done naught but confuse me.
”What do you suppose he’s up to now? Guess, Jeremy, just try.”
“Why, I’ve no idea, really,” said I. ”Still in smuggling, I suppose.”
“Oh no, not like that at all. But this is unfair. You’ll never guess.” He took a deep breath and uttered as softly as ever he could: ”He’s a customs man.”
I heard what he said, though I did not quite trust my ears. ”He’s what?”
Perhaps I spoke too loudly-or perhaps it was Mr. Perkins’s obvious wish not to be overheard which attracted attention-but glancing about, I noticed that a number of faces at the tables near ours had turned in our direction. Mr. Perkins noticed, as well. He jumped to his feet.
“Come along,” said he. ”Let’s go to the bar. The crowd there is so loud, they’ll pay no attention to us.”
And thus it transpired that we concluded our conversation standing at the bar where he called for another ale, and I ordered coffee. We were two of that roaring crowd who roared along with the rest. Yet I daresay none of our near neighbors paid us the slightest heed. Mr. Perkins shouted his news to me loud as the town crier might have done in days gone by. None but me did hear him, though. Of that I’m sure.
As Mr. Perkins told it, he had been sitting at that most distant table, sipping an ale and awaiting my arrival when Dickens came into sight and walked straight over to him. Recognition was immediate. They greeted each the other like long-separated friends and immediately fell to talking about all that had happened during the years that had passed since last they met. Dickens’s first concern was for Mr. Perkins’s missing left forearm. He asked the usual questions: How had it been lost? Did it pain him? Was he able to do without it? Et cetera. These and other such questions Mr. Perkins answered quickly and directly, for he had prepared an elaborate story which concerned a wound given him in the battle for Fort Duquesne.
“I took a proper chop at the elbow from a tomahawk,” he had told Dickens. ”That, for your information, is a sort of Injun hatchet.”
Dickens, properly impressed, had winced visibly. Yet he was in no wise helpful when Mr. Perkins hinted that he had returned to Deal hoping to find employment. Did he know of anything in that trade in which they had both once worked?
“Ah well,” Dickens had responded. ”Afraid I can’t help you there. I’ve moved across to the other side of the street now.”
When asked to explain that, he said that he was now with the Customs Service.
“I must have looked at him pretty queer,” said Mr. Perkins to me, ”for he laughed a bit and swore it was all true. Not only that, but then he tells me that he’s the customs officer for Deal with an office in Deal Castle and twenty men to do his bidding. I wanted to hear more, of course, but it was just about then that you came by, Jeremy.”
I thought about what had then been said by and to Dick Dickens, and I realized that there was something that had puzzled me.
“I’ve a question, Mr. Perkins.”
“Ask it then, and I’ll answer if I can.”
“Why did you mention Sir John to him at all? You needn’t have done. A complete fiction would have worked just as well.”
“True enough, I suppose,” said he. ”But if you had seen the way that Dickens came up to me at that table, you’d understand. I happened to be looking in his direction when he come round the corner, and he wasn’t looking left or right at all. He knew right where I’d be, and he knew exactly who I was. No, I figure that he’d been told about me- somebody must’ve recognized me from the old days and told him where I’d be. As for why I then brought Sir John into it, it seemed to me that if I was being watched that close, they might just possibly see me around Deal sometime soon with Sir John-or at least with a blind man who answers his description.
And if they did, I wanted to account for it in advance.” He paused. ”Why? Didn’t you think much of the story I gave?”
“Well,” said I, ”I thought it a bit far-fetched. After all, a dogsbody? an errand boy? You seemed, rather, to be describing me.”
“Aw, now you’re not being fair to your own self.”
Thus, in friendly railery, we did continue our interview at the George to the very end, when, having finished my coffee, I prepared to take my leave.
“You can tell Sir John,” said the constable, ”that I’ll continue to find out what I can about the trade hereabouts. Tonight I’ll head over to Alfred Square. I understand it’s sort of a gathering place, so I’ve heard.”
“Well, watch out if you do,” said I, ”for I’ve heard that it’s just the part of town to be avoided-a robbery a week and a murder a month.”
“Sounds just like dear old Bedford Street in Covent Garden, so it does. I think I’ll like it just fine.”
On that I departed.
My interview with Mr. Perkins had not lasted near as long as I expected, and so I decided to take a bit of time and explore the town of Deal. I had seen some of it, of course, from the window of Lord Mansfield’s coach. Yet the world seen from a coach window is simply a picture that moves. Where are the smells, the sounds, of the place?
Well, they were indeed present as I set off down High Street. I mixed with the crowd of buyers as they moved in and out of the rich shops along the way. There was a certain indefinable but real sense of prosperity and well-being among them. It was not so much what was said as how it was said. No doubt they gossiped of family, friends, and workplace, as they did in most other towns and cities. Nevertheless, they did so with smiles upon their faces and laughter in their voices; they did not go about muttering and cursing, as they seemed so often to do in London.
As for the smell of the place, there could be no doubt: it was the smell of the sea. I soon saw my way down to Beach Street, and I took it. Once there, I was immediately touched by the great flocks of gulls, flying over sea and shore and walking about upon the narrow strip of beach that ran along the cobblestone street. It seemed that whenever one of the great gray or white birds landed, another would take off. I wondered, were there not more gulls than people in Deal? Not far offshore, a number of boats bobbed in the tide-though not so many as I might have expected, for Deal was known then, as it is now, as a fishing port. Then, of a sudden, did it come to me that because it was not long past midday, the boats might indeed still be out upon the sea; perhaps they stayed out for days at a time. The smell of the sea and the fish was all about me, a strong odor even upon the walkway. I did realize at last that it came not just from the beach and beyond, but from ahead, as well, for there, at the next corner, were stalls which sold all manner of seafood to the citizenry, shellfish and finny fish, even eels and skates. I paused and surveyed the vast array of God’s water creatures. What would they taste of? Why, of the sea, of course, but in truth, I had not tasted much seafood at that time in my life. I had no clear sense of it. Reluctantly, I continued on my way. I went on to the next street and the next. Then, when Beach Street ended, the shore, of course, did not. And so I crossed over and walked along the water line. What a grand thing it would be to live one’s life by the sea and take such walks every day!
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