“It beant no use to kick, maister,” said the man, again ramming the knife down into the rick as though he were cutting Mr. Bumpkin himself in half, and were talking to him the while; “it beant no use to kick, maister. Here thee be; thee owes the man the money, and can’t pay, so ur does this out of kindness to prevent thee being sowled oop loike.”
“Here be the pleeceman,” said Mrs. Bumpkin.
Mr. Bumpkin turned suddenly, and shouted, “Tak thic thief into custody.”
The policeman, albeit a country constable, was a very sensible man; and seeing how matters stood, he very wisely set himself to the better task of taking Mr. Bumpkin into custody without appearing to do so, and without Mr. Bumpkin knowing it.
“Now,” said he, “if so be as you will come indoors, Mr. Bumpkin, I think we can put our heads together and see what can be done in this ’ere case; if it’s stealing let him steal, and I’ll have him nicely; but if it ain’t stealing, then I woant have him at all.” (A pause.)
“Because the law gives you other remedies.”
“That be right, pleeceman,” said Bumpkin; “I’ll goo wi’ thee. Now then, Nancy, let’s goo; and look ’ere, thee thief, I’ll ha’ thee in th’ jail yet.”
The man grinned with a mouth that seemed to have been cut with his own hay-knife, so large was it, and went on with his work, merely saying: “I dooant charge thee nothin for cootin’ nor yet for bindin, maister; I does it all free graatis, loike.”
So they went in, and the policeman was quite a comforter to the poor old man. He talked to him about what the law was on this point and that point, and how a trespass was one thing, and a breach of the peace another; and how he mustn’t take a man up for felony just because somebody charged him: otherwise, the man on the rick might have charged Mr. Bumpkin, and so on; till he got the old man into quite a discussion on legal points. But meanwhile he had given him another piece of advice, which was also much to his credit, and that was to send to his solicitor, Mr. Prigg. Mr. Prigg was accordingly sent for; but, like most good men, was very scarce. Nowhere could Mr. Prigg be found. But it was well known, for it was advertised everywhere on large bills, that the excellent gentleman would take the chair at a meeting, to be held in the schoolroom in the evening, for the propagation of Christianity among the Jews. The policeman would be on duty at that meeting, and he would be sure to see Mr. Prigg, and tell him Mr. Bumpkin was very desirous to see him as early as possible on the following day. Mr. Bumpkin was thankful, and to some extent pacified. As the policeman wished them goodnight, Mrs. Bumpkin accompanied him to the door, and begged, if he wouldn’t mind, that he would look in to-morrow, for he seemed a kind of protection for them.