shadow of britain

Chapter 176 The Kid from Scotland

Martin's Tavern, 25 Brick Lane, Tower Hamlets, Whitechapel Parish.

Although the Martin's Tavern has only opened for more than a month, the price is reasonable and cheap, and the owner, Mr. Martin, has a good relationship with Sheriff Brendan Jones and Miss Fiona Evans, both above and below ground in the Whitechapel area. , so the local hooligans in the vicinity dare not default on the drink money here, let alone make trouble.

So even if it is just a newly opened tavern, it does not prevent Martin's Tavern from successfully achieving profitability last month.

In the evening, the light of oil lamps gradually came out in the tavern. In the flickering lights, sailors, bricklayers and even pickpockets who had just completed a big order all came here one after another.

In the crowded and noisy environment, the guests exchanged glasses of watered beer, played cards, threw dice, guessed the size, and threw various large and small coins on the table.

And near the bar, a gentleman wearing a hat and trench coat was chatting with Mr. Martin with a pipe in his mouth.

Mr. Martin had a flattering face. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be planning to give all the compliments of this year's offer to the gentleman in front of him.

Arthur looked at the yellowed wine stains on the floor and the scattered cards and coins on the wine table, and asked, "Do they play this every night?"

Mr. Martin nodded and said, "Mr. Hastings, it's not like you don't know. Those of us who do physical work have only this little fun every day. Either drink some wine or gamble. If money is tight, we can play cards. If you have ample money, you can play horse racing. By the way, you can buy lottery tickets before, but haven’t the lottery tickets been banned by the government two years ago?

Members felt that buying lottery tickets would breed inertia, increase poverty, lead to debauchery, destroy domestic harmony, and increase the number of madmen.However, I think that in this regard, Members of Parliament have really made a big deal out of a molehill.

After all, buying lottery tickets is considered a traditional entertainment in Britain. I heard from my grandfather that we started playing this thing as early as the 16th century, when Elizabeth I was the king. At that time, the prizes were not only rich, but also metal tableware. and fabrics and such.

That's much more interesting than the underground lottery tickets we play now..."

When Mr. Martin said this, his face suddenly changed, and he realized that he had slipped his mouth.

But unexpectedly, Arthur didn't pay attention to what he said.

Our Mr. Hastings merely stirred his coffee cup with the silver spoon reserved for him at the Martin's.

Arthur said: "Don't worry, I'm off work now, and I can't take care of many things. But from a friend's point of view, I still advise you to play less of that thing. The so-called underground lottery is not too different from fraud. Great. I can understand hopeless laborers buying that kind of stuff, since they don't have many ways to get rich.

But Mr. Martin, you are different. Your business is doing well now. As long as you sell your things honestly, you will live a decent life sooner or later. Why do you have to dream of that unrealistic dream of getting rich?In other words, you actually got that underground lottery ticket? "

When Martin heard this, he quickly waved his hands: "Mr. Hastings, don't get me wrong. Although I occasionally mix some gadgets into my products, I don't do illegal things at all. You should know me, I am a good citizen."

Arthur nodded: "Okay, then, good citizen, do you have any news about what I told you to pass to Fiona two days ago? A brown cowhide wallet with some money in it, two Elder cards Mr. Carter's business card, in addition to a supply receipt for the Royal Navy Beagle. Oh, yes, his silver pocket watch was also stolen along with it. That pocket watch is also very distinctive, so it should be easy to identify .”

"That's true, after all, there are not many pocket watches with a blonde nude woman in the background."

Mr. Martin picked up the rag on the counter and wiped the sweat from his brow: "However, Mr. Hastings, I certainly dare not neglect your orders. But you also know that there are too many thieves in London. Although Miss Ivan has taken some of Fred's dishes now, her energy is not as strong as Fred's back then, and not every pickpocket will think of her immediately when selling stolen goods."

Arthur replied: "That's what she said, but she should at least know which pickpocket groups are often active in the Marylebone area. That brat with a Scottish accent is a veteran, and he can actually know who he is under my nose Unknowingly took out my friend's pocket.

If you tell me that the kid who can do such a delicate job is a solo and a novice, you will challenge my common sense as a Scotland Yard policeman. "

Mr. Martin thought for a while, and asked, "Did you send someone to ask old Fagin in St. Giles? Maybe someone from the West End did it? If that's the case, even if the things didn't reach old Fagin At the very least, he should know which group did it."

"Of course I sent someone to ask about old Fagin." Arthur took a sip of his coffee.

"How did he say?"

Arthur pursed his lips: "He said that the lads under him have been doing well recently, and the organized gangs in the West End have also been frightened by Fred's death, so most of them have been eating Ben. If someone actually stole a purse with a Royal Navy resupply slip attached, anyone in their senses would turn it over to Scotland Yard. So it couldn't have been done by their West End 'gentlemen', he said. This kind of bold and brainless guy usually hangs around in the East End."

Martin thought for a while, and murmured: "It sounds reasonable. After all, you just made Fred stand up some time ago. The guy who dares to commit crimes at this time, I'm afraid he really thinks his life is too long."

The two were talking, when they suddenly heard a knock on the door and a ringing bell behind them.

A few familiar-looking hooligans walked into the tavern, raised their hands and greeted Mr. Martin without thinking: "Martin, we have found the person you want. Damn, you really don't know how old that kid is!" Difficult to find. You said he had a Scottish accent. We thought he might be from Kyle, but then we found out that this guy is really a fucking single-hanger. If it weren't for his pocket watch that was not easy to ship, we would really There was no lead to catch him."

Arthur turned his head to look, his eyes just met the leader of the gangster.

He knew that person, it was James, the gangster who had been raped by him with a gun barrel in his mouth.

James didn't see him at first, but when his eyes sank and he saw Arthur, his body couldn't stand shaking three times, and then he quickly took off his hat and said, "Black...Mr. Hastings? "

Martin hurriedly said, "What do I need people for? Stuff! Did you bring the stuff?"

James hurriedly took out the wallet from his trouser pocket, walked up to it and put it on the counter in three steps: "The pocket watch, business card, and list are all in there, but the money has been spent by that brat. Anyway, I brought it to you too." , whether to put him in jail or to beat him up and let him go, you two can decide."

After finishing speaking, James winked at the subordinates behind him: "What are you doing in a daze? Bring people up!"

"Oh oh oh!"

The boss got angry, and a group of younger brothers hurried out of the way in a panic, and then saw a skinny monkey-like ruffian walking up from behind with a rag stuffed in his mouth and his hands tied behind his back.

He complained while walking: "James, next time you do this job, this Scottish kid is quite strong, and he is almost like carrying a donkey."

"Stop talking nonsense!" James glared, and then he couldn't help smiling at Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, don't worry, you just came here, and you don't understand the rules in our industry."

Arthur didn't care, he just looked at the wide-eyed Scottish brat with a disapproving expression, and asked, "You just said he was single-hanging, what's going on?"

James explained: "You may not know, this kid said that he walked all the way from Glasgow, Scotland to London by himself. While walking, he was doing work on the road, but he fell into your hands not long after he arrived in London. If this kid could find a good mentor to train him after he came to London, with his skills, he can become a character in the future. Of course, this character refers to a decent gentleman like you in our industry That's definitely incomparable."

"I walked from Scotland to London by myself?" Arthur couldn't help being a little curious when he heard this. He looked at this kid who looked at most eleven or twelve years old. He smiled and took off the rag from the kid's mouth and asked. Said: "Yes! What's your kid's name?"

But after hearing what Arthur said, the other party just snorted and turned his face away.

James saw it, and couldn't help but patted him on the side of the face with the back of his hand: "Boy, do you know who this is? He was caught stealing and still so rude? Do you want to go to the justice court? If I was half as hard as you , I guess I have already gone to see God by now!"

The child pursed his lips when he heard James mentioning the Magistrate's Court, and reluctantly announced his name: "Don't...don't be angry, sir. I'm just trying to get some money...I...my name is Alan Pinkerton."

(End of this chapter)