to listen to clients who came before him in a manner so irregular, and

he had listened. And O, if he had only listened; but he had gone upon

their errand--he, a barrister, uninstructed even by the shadow of

a solicitor--upon an errand fit only for a private detective; and

alas!--and for the hundredth time the blood surged to his brow--he had

taken their money! 'No,' said he, 'the thing is as plain as St Paul's. I

shall be dishonoured! I have smashed my career for a five-pound note.'

Between the possibility of being hanged in all innocence, and the

certainty of a public and merited disgrace, no gentleman of spirit

could long hesitate. After three gulps of that hot, snuffy, and muddy

beverage, that passes on the streets of London for a decoction of the

coffee berry, Gideon's mind was made up. He would do without the police.

He must face the other side of the dilemma, and be Robert Skill in

earnest. What would Robert Skill have done? How does a gentleman dispose

of a dead body, honestly come by? He remembered the inimitable story

of the hunchback; reviewed its course, and dismissed it for a worthless

guide. It was impossible to prop a corpse on the corner of Tottenham

Court Road without arousing fatal curiosity in the bosoms of the

passers-by; as for lowering it down a London chimney, the physical

obstacles were insurmountable. To get it on board a train and drop it

out, or on the top of an omnibus and drop it off, were equally out

of the question. To get it on a yacht and drop it overboard, was more

conceivable; but for a man of moderate means it seemed extravagant. The

hire of the yacht was in itself a consideration; the subsequent support

of the whole crew (which seemed a necessary consequence) was simply

174

The Wrong Box