DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 74
"I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It would
break her heart--it will break her heart when she hears that I am
arrested."

"It may not come to that," said Holmes.

"What?"

"I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter who
required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests. Young
McCarthy must be got off, however."

"I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for years.
My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a month. Yet I
would rather die under my own roof than in a jail."

Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand and a
bundle of paper before him. "Just tell us the truth," he said. "I
shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson here can
witness it. Then I could produce your confession at the last
extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall not use
it unless it is absolutely needed."

"It's as well," said the old man; "it's a question whether I shall
live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I should wish to
spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the thing clear to you; it
has been a long time in the acting, but will not take me long to
tell.

"You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate. I
tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he.
His grip has been upon me these twenty years, and he has blasted my
life. I'll tell you first how I came to be in his power.

"It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap then,
hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at anything; I got
among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck with my claim, took
to the bush, and in a word became what you would call over here a
highway robber. There were six of us, and we had a wild, free life of
it, sticking up a station from time to time, or stopping the wagons
on the road to the diggings. Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I
went under, and our party is still remembered in the colony as the
Ballarat Gang.

"One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and we
lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers and six
of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of their saddles
at the first volley. Three of our boys were killed, however, before
we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, who
was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the Lord that I had shot him
then, but I spared him, though I saw his wicked little eyes fixed on
my face, as though to remember every feature. We got away with the
gold, became wealthy men, and made our way over to England without
being suspected. There I parted from my old pals and determined to
settle down to a quiet and respectable life. I bought this estate,
which chanced to be in the market, and I set myself to do a little
good with my money, to make up for the way in which I had earned it.
I married, too, and though my wife died young she left me my dear
little Alice. Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to
lead me down the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word,
I turned over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All
was going well when McCarthy laid his grip upon me.

"I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in Regent
Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot.

"'Here we are, Jack,' says he, touching me on the arm; 'we'll be as
good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son, and you
can have the keeping of us. If you don't--it's a fine, law-abiding
country is England, and there's always a policeman within hail.'

"Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking them
off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land ever since.
There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness; turn where I
would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my elbow. It grew
worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more afraid of her
knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he wanted he must have,
and whatever it was I gave him without question, land, money, houses,
until at last he asked a thing which I could not give. He asked for
Alice.

"His son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as I was
known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that his
lad should step into the whole property. But there I was firm. I
would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that I had any
dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that was enough. I
stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do his worst. We
were to meet at the pool midway between our houses to talk it over.

"When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I smoked
a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. But as I
listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to
come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my daughter with as
little regard for what she might think as if she were a slut from off
the streets. It drove me mad to think that I and all that I held most
dear should be in the power of such a man as this. Could I not snap
the bond? I was already a dying and a desperate man. Though clear of
mind and fairly strong of limb, I knew that my own fate was sealed.
But my memory and my girl! Both could be saved if I could but silence
that foul tongue. I did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply

"I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It would

break her heart--it will break her heart when she hears that I am

arrested."

"It may not come to that," said Holmes.

"What?"

"I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter who

required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests. Young

McCarthy must be got off, however."

"I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for years.

My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a month. Yet I

would rather die under my own roof than in a jail."

Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand and a

bundle of paper before him. "Just tell us the truth," he said. "I

shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson here can

witness it. Then I could produce your confession at the last

extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall not use

it unless it is absolutely needed."

"It's as well," said the old man; "it's a question whether I shall

live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I should wish to

spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the thing clear to you; it

has been a long time in the acting, but will not take me long to

tell.

"You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate. I

tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he.

His grip has been upon me these twenty years, and he has blasted my

life. I'll tell you first how I came to be in his power.

"It was in the early '60's at the diggings. I was a young chap then,

hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at anything; I got

among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck with my claim, took

to the bush, and in a word became what you would call over here a

highway robber. There were six of us, and we had a wild, free life of

it, sticking up a station from time to time, or stopping the wagons

on the road to the diggings. Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I

went under, and our party is still remembered in the colony as the

Ballarat Gang.

"One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and we

lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers and six

of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of their saddles

at the first volley. Three of our boys were killed, however, before

we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, who

was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the Lord that I had shot him

then, but I spared him, though I saw his wicked little eyes fixed on

my face, as though to remember every feature. We got away with the

gold, became wealthy men, and made our way over to England without

being suspected. There I parted from my old pals and determined to

settle down to a quiet and respectable life. I bought this estate,

which chanced to be in the market, and I set myself to do a little

good with my money, to make up for the way in which I had earned it.

I married, too, and though my wife died young she left me my dear

little Alice. Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to

lead me down the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word,

I turned over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All

was going well when McCarthy laid his grip upon me.

"I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in Regent

Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot.

"'Here we are, Jack,' says he, touching me on the arm; 'we'll be as

good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son, and you

can have the keeping of us. If you don't--it's a fine, law-abiding

country is England, and there's always a policeman within hail.'

"Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking them

off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land ever since.

There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness; turn where I

would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my elbow. It grew

worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more afraid of her

knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he wanted he must have,

and whatever it was I gave him without question, land, money, houses,

until at last he asked a thing which I could not give. He asked for

Alice.

"His son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as I was

known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that his

lad should step into the whole property. But there I was firm. I

would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that I had any

dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that was enough. I

stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do his worst. We

were to meet at the pool midway between our houses to talk it over.

"When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I smoked

a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. But as I

listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to

come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my daughter with as

little regard for what she might think as if she were a slut from off

the streets. It drove me mad to think that I and all that I held most

dear should be in the power of such a man as this. Could I not snap

the bond? I was already a dying and a desperate man. Though clear of

mind and fairly strong of limb, I knew that my own fate was sealed.

But my memory and my girl! Both could be saved if I could but silence

that foul tongue. I did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply