Gideon the Cutpurse

by Linda Buckley-Archer

  Sir Richard, meanwhile, had managed to reach Gideon’s cart and had peeled the wretched Joshua from his half-brother. Sir Richard then plunged back into the crowd, dragging Joshua behind him, but not before he had embraced Gideon and whispered ‘Courage!’ into his friend’s ear. Parson Ledbury motioned furiously to them from the carriage window to hurry up until his attention was suddenly taken by a commotion on the scaffold.

  Just as the Newgate Ordinary was climbing out of the cart, a man in a three-cornered hat leaped onto the scaffold, scattering a group of confused soldiers as he did so. He raised his hands high above his head for silence. A single soldier jumped onto the scaffold next to him but the man possessed such authority that when he gestured to him to wait until he had finished speaking, the soldier merely stood there meekly and obeyed. Gideon, the noose around his neck, looked on, amazed.

  Kate gasped.

  ‘It’s the Tar Man!’ Peter exclaimed.

  The Tar Man waited until he had got the crowd’s attention before speaking. He pointed an accusing finger directly at Lord Luxon in the front row of the stands.

  ‘It is not too late, my Lord, to stop this execution!’ the Tar Man cried. ‘He is innocent of the crime, as well you know! I ask you to admit that you have been mistaken about Mr Seymour!’

  Lord Luxon stood up and, although clearly shocked to see his henchman, he remained an elegant and dignified figure and only the tendons in his neck belied his cool exterior. He clutched a lace handkerchief.

  ‘I am surprised to see you at Tyburn, Blueskin. I thought it was your custom to avoid all places of execution … But you are impertinent, sir. Mr Seymour has been found guilty of his crimes and must pay the penalty this day. I pray you withdraw from this place, as you do not appear to have the stomach for justice.’

  The Tar Man’s scar glowed white in the strong sunshine as he returned his employer’s haughty stare. ‘I believe it was on account of my strong stomach that you hired me … Come, my Lord, it is easy to draw hasty conclusions from scant evidence and I have received information about Mr Seymour which, shall we say, makes me urge you – strongly – to withdraw your allegation. For is there anything more odious than to permit a man to hang for a crime he did not commit?’

  ‘You speak out of turn, Blueskin, I shall expect an explanation of your intolerable outburst later …’

  ‘Then as God is my witness I denounce you as a liar!’

  The crowd gasped. The Tar Man was well known and his name spread like a brush fire from one side of the crowd to another – ‘Blueskin!’ was on everyone’s lips. ‘Blueskin! Blueskin!’

  ‘Guards, remove this man at once!’ barked Lord Luxon to the soldiers standing to attention around the scaffold. ‘This man is surely in league with the condemned felon!’

  Peter could scarcely believe this turn of events. Since when did the Tar Man care about Gideon?

  ‘What’s he up to?’ he said to Kate. ‘The Tar Man is Gideon’s worst enemy!’

  ‘I don’t know … but it sure looks like Lord Luxon’s got on the wrong side of him …’

  The Tar Man jumped down in one bound from the scaffold, a dark, feline figure, and started to push his way towards Lord Luxon who feigned indifference. Sensing trouble, the sergeant sent half a dozen soldiers after the Tar Man and, with difficulty, they overpowered him. The Tar Man was not cowed but stood within spitting distance of his employer, straining against his captors, his arms forced behind his back.

  ‘The new gamekeeper arrived from Abinger this morning and let slip something he shouldn’t have,’ he hissed into Lord Luxon’s face. ‘After a little persuasion he admitted that you had spoken of the matter with him. Can it be true what he told me about Mr Seymour?’

  What colour there was in Lord Luxon’s cheeks faded away. He remained silent.

  ‘Damn your eyes, Luxon, admit it or deny it but don’t play with me!’

  The soldiers dragged the Tar Man away. ‘Is it true?!!!’

  At first the crowd did not know how to react but then, when they saw Lord Luxon standing up and trying to slip away, a great booing and hissing began and people started to throw anything they could lay their hands on at the retreating figure who lacked the courage to witness the consequences of his actions. Fruit, oyster shells and bread were catapulted into the air. Lord Luxon lifted up his arms to protect himself. Several of the fops and macaronies were hit by the projectiles that failed to reach their target. Not one of them came to Lord Luxon’s aid. The holiday atmosphere had vanished and the crowd was transformed into a mob. The sergeant knew that if he was to prevent a riot he was going to have to escort Lord Luxon away as quickly as possible. Within moments, a circle of soldiers had surrounded him and were manoeuvring themselves, turtle-like, away from the scaffold and the chanting mob.

  ‘Excellent!’ exclaimed Parson Ledbury. ‘You’d have thought the Tar Man was in league with us! Why, we are already rid of half the guards and the crowd is whipped into a frenzy without us lifting a finger!’

  Sir Richard and Joshua reached the carriage. This was no time for introductions. Peter and Kate were pushed into the larger carriage and the blinds firmly shut. Sir Richard, the Parson, Dr Dyer, Joshua and even Jack, who held Hannah’s hand tightly, were given large metal dishes and hammers and rods. Sidney was given a snare drum.

  ‘Go now! Go to your places and follow Sidney’s lead. As soon as Gideon has spoken his last word, make enough noise to bring down the angels from heaven!’

  With the Tar Man under armed guard behind the scaffold and Lord Luxon escorted from Tyburn, the crowd had grown calmer. The officer decided that it would be best to get the hanging of the wretched Mr Seymour over and done with before his audience got bored and fractious. Jack Ketch, as all hangmen were called, appeared on the scaffold and an expectant hush descended on the crowd. They had come to see a man die and they hoped he would die well, and so grew quiet in order to be able to hear his last words.

  Gideon Seymour was unknown to the vast majority of the crowd but the Tar Man’s support of him predisposed them in his favour.

  Thirty thousand pairs of eyes focussed on the small figure with a rope around his neck. Gideon stepped forward and spoke. His voice rang across the fields of Tyburn and the crowds shuffled forward in order to hear him the better.

  ‘I do not deny that I have done wrong,’ he said, in a loud, strong voice that trembled only slightly. ‘And before God and the people I say that I truly repent of my sins. But I am not guilty of those crimes of which I am accused. Nor have I led a more wicked life than that of my betters who have seen fit to bring me here to this accursed place. I stole food when I was starving and I know that I am not alone here in having to choose between life and breaking God’s law.’

  There were murmurs of approval.

  ‘Yet I tell you that I have seen the Future and in that Distant Land there will be Justice! No one shall be driven by poverty to a life of crime and deceit! Live in the hope that better things are yet to come and that if individual men are wicked, the heart of our nation is sound and we shall create our own paradise on earth.’

  The crowd now broke into cheers. Flowers were thrown onto the scaffold.

  ‘Life is sweet, my friends! Do not waste a moment of it! Fare thee well!’

  Gideon took out a coin from his pocket and presented it to Jack Ketch. The hangman took a step closer to Gideon and adjusted the rope around his neck. Girls in white dresses took out their handkerchiefs. The crowd drew its breath but then, abruptly, the staccato beat of a drum sounded from the back of the scaffold. And all around them, there was the clanging of metal on metal and shouts and the sound of pistols being discharged. No one knew where to look. The soldiers were in disarray, wondering where to go to put a stop to the uproar. After a few moments a single note of a horn silenced the disturbers of the peace. The horn sounded again, rich and clear. Everyone was searching for the horn player. Jack Ketch stepped away from Gideon, unwilling to proceed during this commotion. Then gasps coul
d be heard and people started to point at two figures hovering on the top of a black and gold carriage.

  ‘Look!’ went up the cry. ‘Angels are come among us!’

  Peter and Kate, dressed in white and gold, with wreaths of golden leaves upon their heads, stood like statues, balanced on small metal stands which from a distance were invisible. They appeared to be floating.

  Then Peter pressed Gideon’s horn to his lips. He blew again, three long notes as if to gain the crowd’s attention. And then Kate began to sing: at first just notes and trills, all very high and melodious, and then, when she had everyone’s rapt attention, she sang words, too.

  ‘Help him, oh my people!’ she sang. ‘For he is without sin. Do not let the blood of an innocent man stain this soil! Help him, oh my people! Let him be lifted on your shoulders and delivered into the arms of those who love him. Help him, oh my people! Help him!’

  Kate then gestured for Joshua, Dr Dyer and Sir Richard to join her. They had just arrived, panting, from their positions along the circumference of the crowd. They climbed up onto the roof of the carriage and stood on either side of Kate and Peter with arms open as if in supplication. At this point, and to the astonishment of the crowd, the two angels gradually started to fade and in another moment they had disappeared into thin air. For a second there was total silence. No one spoke and no one moved. And then pandemonium broke out: people screamed and clung to each other.

  Sir Richard looked anxiously over at the scaffold. What was the crowd going to do? Inside the carriage Peter and Kate struggled to pull off their costumes and peeped out through a crack in the blinds. They waited an agonising minute scarcely daring to breathe … Then they made out a group of men clambering onto the scaffold.

  ‘Come on, lads!’ a gruff voice shouted. ‘You heard ’em!’

  On the cart Gideon felt the rope being removed from his neck and found himself being carried down into the crowd. He was passed over people’s heads like a raft, hundreds of hands helping him on his way over this sea of well-wishers. It was not only Gideon who was saved, the crowd also cut the bonds of the highwaymen, who made their escape without the soldiers being able to lift a finger to prevent them. The officer bawled frantic orders at his men but to no avail. The Tar Man, too, slipped away, unnoticed in all the confusion.

  Peter opened the carriage door and Gideon was deposited at his feet. Sir Richard and the Parson piled in after him.

  ‘I am saved!’ cried Gideon. ‘God has granted me a second chance! Thank you! Oh, thank you!’

  Everyone had tears in their eyes.

  ‘No problem,’ said Peter. ‘Any time.’

  Kate burst out laughing and Peter had to agree that nothing he could think of saying could quite match up to the occasion. Gideon pushed himself up and sat down heavily on the leather seat of the carriage, letting out an enormous sigh of relief. He looked at Peter, who was still crouching on the floor of the carriage, and grinned at him and pushed him over with the sole of his foot.

  ‘Did you have to wait until the noose was around my neck? Could you not have rescued me before I thought I was about to depart this earth?’

  ‘Well, we didn’t want to disappoint the crowd … they were looking forward to it.’ replied Peter, handing back Gideon’s horn to him.

  Gideon laughed and took back his horn. ‘It would have gladdened my father’s heart to see how his horn helped to save his son …’

  ‘And we had welcome if somewhat puzzling assistance from your adversary!’ said Sir Richard. ‘I cannot say I understand it but I am glad the Tar Man chose so opportune a moment to discover his fondness for you! He will soon be seeking a new employer – for after today’s outburst I doubt Lord Luxon will tolerate him under his roof!’

  ‘I fancy the Tar Man has had enough of employers,’ replied Gideon. ‘I know it is his ambition to be master of his own destiny. Besides, you misread his motives for I can scarce believe that it was my plight alone which provoked his compassion. I am certain that it was his own young self that he saw on the scaffold today, falsely accused and hanged, not me … When first he came to Tempest House, Lord Luxon was rash enough to promise to help him clear his name.’

  ‘I see,’ said Sir Richard. ‘A foolish thing to break one’s promise to the likes of the Tar Man! Although I wonder if there is more to the Tar Man’s actions than you suspect … But come, my friends, we have no time to lose. This is not the fastest of carriages and we must not squander whatever advantage we have.’

  Sidney, Hannah, Jack and the Parson climbed up into the second carriage, then Sir Richard rapped on the carriage roof as a signal to the driver that they were ready. The carriages set off at a gallop for Hampstead Heath and there was nothing the soldiers could do to stop them. The crowd watched clouds of dust rise into the air as Sir Richard’s carriages receded into the distance and, unlike Mr Seymour and his rescuers, they had a good view of the Tar Man clinging on for dear life to the back of the second carriage. The day’s entertainment was over but, as Hanging Days went, this had been a good one.

  The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves of a densely wooded part of Hampstead Heath. They had concealed the carriages as best as they could and had come on foot to the place where Dr Dyer had hidden the anti-gravity machine. One of Sir Richard’s grooms had stood guard over it since morning and had waited here with Molly and a fast horse provided for Gideon’s escape. It had been a difficult day for Molly and her relief was plain when she was reunited with Kate. After all the jubilation and congratulations, the tears and the laughter in the two carriages, a sombre mood had descended on the company. This was to be goodbye. Gideon must go into hiding and Peter, Kate and her father were to return to their own time if they could. Nor could they spend any time on long goodbyes for the soldiers would be fast on their heels. Dr Dyer removed the bracken he had used to conceal the anti-gravity machine and positioned Kate, Peter and Molly around it.

  Kate broke away and hugged little Jack and Hannah.

  ‘I hope King George has cured you of the scrofula, Jack. Make sure to grow lots more cabbages – if the rabbits eat them you know what you can threaten them with!’

  ‘Were I to live to be a hundred I should never meet a finer person than you, Mistress Kate,’ said Sidney. ‘God bless you and God speed!’

  Kate kissed his cheek and Sidney put his hand to the spot where she had kissed him and kept it there. ‘Have a happy life,’ she said. ‘I hope all of you have happy lives!’

  The Parson kissed Kate’s hand. ‘I shall forget all about America but I shall not forget you,’ he said.

  Kate was beginning to become tearful again and for once Peter did not blame her. He followed Kate’s example and shook everyone’s hands warmly, even Sidney’s.

  ‘Goodbye,’ said Dr Dyer. ‘I cannot thank you enough. And I know that Kate’s mother and Peter’s parents, too, would join me in my heartfelt thanks.’

  ‘You have been so good to us, Sir Richard,’ said Peter. ‘Thank you for everything you have done.’

  ‘I count it a privilege to have known you,’ replied Sir Richard. ‘I shall often think about the time you spent with us and I shall dream of a future with you all in it.’

  Everyone suddenly became aware of horses’ hooves.

  ‘Quick!’ said Sir Richard. ‘There is no time to lose.’

  Peter, who had so much to say to Gideon, was not going to get the opportunity to say anything at all. He glanced over at his friend who stood side by side with Joshua whom Peter so resembled.

  ‘Peter,’ said Dr Dyer. ‘We must go.’

  The three of them and Molly clustered around the anti-gravity machine. Peter looked up at Gideon and tried to smile. He had not even been able to say goodbye. He saw Kate holding her father’s hand and then he looked back at Gideon. The thought came into his head that in the short space of time he had known him, Gideon had done things for him which his own father never had. He had rescued him, probably saved his life; not only that, he had put his own life
in danger. He had been a true friend. He had been there when he needed him. Gideon had trusted him … And now, because he had come to his and Kate’s aid, he was going to be alone and on the run … An impulse came over Peter which was too strong to resist. He couldn’t go without saying goodbye, without saying thank you …

  ‘Ready?’ asked Dr Dyer.

  Kate nodded her head and tightened her grip around Molly’s collar but Peter suddenly darted towards Gideon, arms outstretched. Kate saw Dr Dyer move his hand towards the starter switch and she screamed at Peter.

  ‘Peter! No!!!’

  Peter swung around just in time to see the Tar Man spring, seemingly from nowhere, into the position he had just vacated. Molly’s snarl alerted the rest of the party to the intruder. Gideon’s warm smile vanished and he instinctively threw Peter back towards Dr Dyer and Kate. The Tar Man glanced over at Gideon and for a brief moment there was an unfathomable look in his eyes. The tips of Peter’s fingers sank into the liquefying edges of the anti-gravity machine. It was too late. A wave of nausea swept over Peter before he was flung backwards, every atom repelled by the arcane functioning of the device. He looked up, and in that split second before all was lost, he saw the Tar Man, dark eyes burning, triumph and terror etched in equal measure on that hateful face; he saw Dr Dyer, eyes wide with horror; and then he glimpsed Kate, his Kate, who had sworn never to leave without him. Her hand reached out towards him and her mouth was open in a scream that rung in Peter’s ears long after it had stopped. And above them all, emanating from the reflective dome at the top of the machine, he saw – or did he imagine that he saw? – a pulsating wave of fluorescent spirals that shot into infinity and vanished.

  Hannah and Jack screamed. Gideon and Joshua stepped forward to lift Peter from the ground. He stood, unsteady on his feet, his eyes fixed to the spot where the anti-gravity machine had been. The Tar Man travelled to the twenty-first century and Peter was stranded in 1763. No one spoke. The only sound was that of horses’ hooves drawing nearer and nearer every second.