I. D. B. (Illicit Diamond Buying), or the Adventures of Solomon Dairs on the diamond fields and elsewhere. By W. T. E

Front matter

I. D. B. OR THE ADVENTURES OF SOLOMON DAVIS I. D. B OR THE ADVENTURES OF SOLOMON DAVIS ON THE DIAMOND FIELDS AND ELSEWHERE BY W. T. E. LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL Limited Richard Clay & Sons, BREAD STREET HILL, LONDON, Bungay, Suffolk. CONTENTS. CHAP. pAGE i. Arcades Ambo ... ... ... ... i n. Pigeons ... ... ... ... ... 17 in. An Unholy Alliance ... ... ... 33 iv. An Explosion ... ... ... ... 52 v. Afloat ... ... ... ... ... 69 vi. A Shareholders' Meeting ... ... ... 97 vii. A Ducking and its Consequences ... ... 112 vm. Rough Weather ... ... ... ... 129 ix. Port Elizabeth ... ... ... ... 153 x. The Fields ... ... ... ... ... 179 xi. Another Arrival ... ... ... ... 202 xii. I. D. B. Expounded ... ... ... ... 213 xm. Joe ... ... ... ... ... ... 227 xiv. A Departure ... ... ... ... 244 xv. A Black Night's Work ... ... ...

VI Contents chap. yAce xvi. A Ghastly Discovery ... .•• ••• 27l xvn. A Basket of Grapes ... ... ••• ••• 28° xvm. An Open Verdict ... ... ■•• ••• -97 xix. Watched ... ... .. ••• ••• 3°7 xx. From Palace to Prison ... ... ••• 32° xxi. Mozzle and Brocha ... ... ... ... I. D. B. OR THE ADVENTURES OF SOLOMON DAVIS.

Chapter I. Arcades Ambo

Solomon Davis first saw the light — or rather as much of it as his infantile orbs Avere capable of admit ting — through the grimy AvindoAv-panes of a little bed room, on the second floor of a seedy-looking tenement in the neighbourhood of Petticoat Lane. The date of this interesting event is involved in considerable mystery, but it is generally believed by the ladies of the Davis family to have occurred during the Avinter of the year 1853. We may take it at that, I think, Avithout risking more than a month or tAvo. Solomon's father and mother, except when the latter was employed in the domestic engagements involved in the rearing of a large and constantly-increasing family, found congenial occupation in the management of a B I. D. B 2 fried-fish shop on the ground floor of the edifice afore said.

At the back of this emporium Avas a small parlour, usually occupied of an evening by certain gentlemen of the HebreAv persuasion from the neigh bourhood, Avho met there to indulge in a quiet game of hazard or solo Avhist. After the whist came a fish supper and sundry bottles of stout, and occasionally more potent fluids, produced from some mysterious repository by Davis pere. At rare intervals an umvary Christian would be beguiled into joining the convivial party, and Avhen that Christian returned — it sometimes happened that he did not return — to the bosom of his family, if he affected that luxury, he usually turned up in a very pitiable plight, and had a curious tale to relate of how he Avas robbed of everything he possessed, and kneAv nothing more of Avhat happened to him until he Avas picked up, stupefied and half-naked, in some un frequented street by the policeman, to Avhom he OAved his restoration to his friends.

The papers now and then got Avind of occurrences of this kind, and did their best to make a fuss about them ; but the victims Avere generally too much ashamed of their folly in alloAA-ing themselves to be decoyed into such a den of thieves to make any attempt to expose them. Several of the gang Avho met at Mr. Davis's establishment Avere Avelshers AA'ith much experience and many aliases. One or tAvo Avere facetiously known as Avatch makers — any croAvd Avould serve these ingenious persons for a Avorkshop, and they invariably dispensed AA'ith tools. Others Avere in the habit of hanging about the criminal courts, and devoted their talents to the proving of apparently impossible alibis, and to other question able legal enterprises. One and all of them were up to every knoAvn trick Avith the cards and dice ; they looked upon the laAv as their natural enemy, the police as their pet aversion, and they regarded anything like honest industry or reputable handicraft as the sublimity of foolishness.

They spent their money freely when they had it in pandering to grossly sensual appetites, the gratification of Avhich represented their sole criterion of enjoyment. When cash Avas scarce they made a virtue of necessity, and abandoned their coarse pleasures for the less expensive amusement afforded by Mr. Davis's card-table, and the pretentious bills of fare of fourth-rate restaurants for the menu maigre of his un assuming kitchen. Most of them, as in duty bound, aired their black suits and stove-pipe hats in synagogue on the day of atonement, Avhen they hoAvled aAvay the transgressions of the previous tAA'elve months in company with a croAvd of temporarily mournful hypocrites like themselves, and then straightAvay Avent out of there Avith their monstrous noses elevated to catch scent of the first SAvindle that might be floating around.

They usually spoke of themselves among themselves as The School ; and a very nice school indeed they Avere to be entrusted Avith the education of Master Solomon Davis, the hero of this veracious history, and Avith that of his numerous brothers and sisters. By the time Sol — as he Avas euphoniously called for brevity — -had attained his fifteenth year, he was an exceedingly promising young apostle of iniquity. He could drink, smoke, SAvear, lie, and steal on occasion, B I. D. B 4 though he had not graduated as a professional thief, in the most accomplished manner, and had all the gutter slang and other polite metropolitan dialects on the tip of his saucy tongue. He kneAv all about feather ing and bridging the cards, and, Avith the deal in his hand, he could Avin or lose as it might suit him.

He would do the "fly-shuffle" under one's very nose so deftly that none but a brother sharper could perceive it ; he played billiards like a professional or a novice, according to circumstances and the stakes ; and though his reading Avas of the slowest, and his caligraphy barely legible, he AA'as able to rattle off the calculations of a betting-book as quickly and correctly as if he had a Babbage's machine concealed beneath his curly scalp. As Ave have said, Solomon had numerous brothers and sisters, but the only one of this highly interesting family, besides Solomon himself, Avith AA-hom Ave have anything to do was his elder brother, Barnet, generally knoAvn as Barney, Avho, although some three years Solomon's senior, Avas very much his inferior both in talents and accomplishments. Barney AA-as a sturdily built youth, hoAvever, and, like most of those Avhose moral and physical training is acquired in the university of the streets of London, he could use his fists to very considerable purpose, an accomplishment which fre quently proved the salvation of his younger brother.

Solomon's education being noAv, in the estimation of his father, sufficiently advanced to enable him to forage for himself, he Avas given to understand that the Avorld was before him, and that, save as an occasional visitor, he Avas no longer to regard himself as a Avelcome inmate of the paternal mansion. Possessed of unlimited con fidence in his OAvn resources, our hero Avas nothing loth to take the hint, and thus it came to pass that he and his brother Barney formed a predatory alliance, and fell into the habit of hunting together — making, as a rule, a very good thing of it. It Avould be tedious to solloAv this Avell-matched pair through the vicissitudes Avhich marked the next seven or eight years of their existence. During the greater portion of that period Solomon and Barney Davis managed to live indifferently Avell, by their own wits, on the innocence of other people.

Solomon, although the younger of the two brothers, invariably took the lead in the invention and prosecution of the various com plicated enterprises, upon the success of Avhich the Avell-being of the fraternal treasury depended, and it was therefore only natural that he should come to be regarded as the leading partner in the firm. Barney's duller intellect never suffered him to originate anything beyond such vulgar pieces of chicanery as form the repertoire of the commonplace card-sharper or con fidence trickster ; Solomon's ambition, on the other hand, led him to aim at much more exalted concep tions, and his enterprises were for a long Avhile success ful, and the source of considerable revenue to the industrious pair. At length, hoAvever, Master Solomon became involved in the explosion of a turf sAvindle of so glaring a character that he considered it advisable for both to disap pear for a while from their accustomed haunts ; and for nearly three years the fashionable card-parties of the I. D. B East End of London, and the suburban race meetings, ceased to be graced by the presence of the Messieurs Davis.

I believe they wished it to be understood that this period of ostracism from the polite society of Avhich they (or at any rate Solomon) had become luminaries, was passed on the Continent. Solomon has certainly been heard to make ambiguous references to Pairey and Boolong ; but his entire innocence of ecarte, rouge-et-noir, and baccarat is strong presumptive evidence against his ever having sojourned in the land of absinthe and Avooden shoes. HoAvever, it is of no importance to this narrative Avhether the illustrious pair spent their involuntary vaca tion in Timbuctoo or Guam, Avherever that mysterious seaport may be. It is sufficient to state that they disappeared for the period above mentioned, and that when they again condescended to shed the light of their crafty countenances upon their former London acquaintance, they found themselves in that unpleasant condition so graphically described by their OAvn favourite formula — dead stone broke.

When they arrived at the paternal establishment near Petticoat Lane, their joint stock of Avorldly goods, in cluding the garments Avhich partially invested their persons, Avould not have been a profitable investment at a sovereign for the lot. Their boots AA'ere leaky, their hats chaotic ruins, their coats and trousers patched in all directions, AA'hite at the seams and shiny, deficient in buttons, and expressive of calamity; in fact, they presented a very sorry picture. Davis senior Avelcomed his " tear poys " with such warmth of manner as he could muster for the occasion, but it was evident the Avorld had been using him none too kindly. He looked aged and careAvorn, and there was an air of discomfort about the place, and a constraint in the old gentleman's speech, AA'hich boded ill for the success of his dutiful sons' project of alloAving him to support them for a Avhile.

Their mother was dead, and her place Avas filled by a large, repulsive-looking female Avhom Mr. Davis designated his housekeeper. Under her auspices the fish business did not appear to have prospered, and the two brothers could not help remark ing that the junior members of the family, Avho came into the parlour one by one, and accorded them a half sullen greeting, looked almost as pinched and out-at elboAvs as they did themselves. Altogether it Avas anything but a pleasant home-coming ; and Solomon and Barney, having brushed themselves up, and effected such temporary sartorial repairs as were possible Avith the appliances at command, borrowed a feAv shillings from the paternal exchequer, and retired to the bar parlour of an adjacent public-house to discuss the situation, and a glass or two of rum-shrub, a compound to Avhich I have remarked that gentlemen of the Hebrew persuasion are, as a rule, extremely partial.

The ups and doAvns of the past few years had left their mark very clearly upon the faces and persons of both brothers. Solomon Avas now the taller of the two by some inches, and looked more active, if possessed of less muscular strength, than his more sturdily-built brother. His features were tolerably regular and clearly cut ; and his expression Avould have been almost pleasant but for the repulsive fulness of his lips, and the sinister I. D. B, curves at the corners of his mouth, betraying greediness and cunning of no common intensity. Solomon's eye brows very nearly met over his prominent nose, and this exhibition of mutual affection on their part added, in a disagreeable manner, to the sly expression of face imparted by his mouth. He Avore a slight moustache, and incipient Avhiskers, of the same indefinite, ashen colour as his hair, which was thin and lanky ; and his eyes, Avhose glance Avas constantly shifting, appeared grey, light blue, or yelloAvish-green, like those of a cat, according to the angle at Avhich the light happened to fall on them.

In figure he Avas slight but AA'ell propor tioned, rather over than under the middle height ; and he was remarkably proud of his hands, Avhich Avere small, white, and exceedingly shapely considering his plebeian origin. Barney, on the other hand, had developed into a squat, punchy, bull-necked, ungainly specimen of humanity. His features were those of his brother, inflated and flattened out, his nose having apparently suffered most in the process ; the bridge had disappeared entirely, the result being a nasal organ of the inverted aquiline order. There was nothing about this pronounced snub to indi cate the HebreAV origin of its proprietor, though it Avas evident that its present shape bore little resemblance to what AA-ould probably have been the result of the peace ful development of this portion of Barney's physi ognomy.

The fact is, that Barney's proboscis had been so badly broken on various occasions that its subse quent groAvth entirely departed from the plans laid doAvn by the manufacturers ; and its ultimate configuration was the result of accident, and the knuckles of his quondam adversaries. Solomon might easily have passed in a croAvd as a respectable member of the middle class. Barney's frying-pan of a face, Avith its huge greedy-looking mouth, inquisitive comma of a nose, and staring watery eyes, his splay-footed Avalk, slouching carriage, and above all, his style of expressing himself, betrayed him at once for AA'hat he Avas — a Cockney- HebreAV ofthe loAvest type. The brothers took their seats in the snug, though none too clean, parlour of the ' Three Tuns ' gave their orders to a gaudy young Avoman, Avho Avasted about an extremely irritating atmosphere of hair oil and patchouli (and Avho appeared someAvhat doubtful about serving the seedy-looking pair, until Solomon placed a coin on the table), and settled themselves for a comfortable confabulation.

I have never tasted rum shrub myself, nor am I at all certain as to the nature of the in gredients which constitute the shrub section of the combination; but Barney said it Avas "cosher"; and, to judge from the rapidity AA'ith which three or four glasses of it raised the spirits of its two devotees from zero to someAvhere in the neighbourhood of fever heat, I should be inclined to assert that it is an exhilarating beverage. Solomon did most of the talking ; he had a rapid, explosive style of firing his opinions at his audience that was wonderfully effective, especially Avhen he was endeavouring to convince a stranger. The more earnest and excited he grew, the closer his face thrust itself into that of the person he Avas addressing, who naturally I. D. B. 10 kept on retreating from such embarrassing proximity.

If he noticed this movement to the rear, Solomon Avould catch hold of his unfortunate listener by the coat, and keep jerking him up to scratch, as it Avere, Avhenever he shoAved symptoms of a retiring disposition. Barney, hoAvever, was quite used to his brother's style of em phasizing his arguments, and kept him at a respectful distance by means of a couple of chairs, Avhich he employed simultaneously as footstool, arm-rest, and chevaux de /rise. What he had to say amounted to this : that something must be done, and done at once, by Avay of making a fresh start in the world. The " old un," as he irreverently styled his paternal ancestor, appeared to be about "stony," and even if "mechulah" AA'ere not trumps, and the old gentleman had "AA'elled" a little, that house keeper — here Barney interpolated a remark Avith regard to that lady's moral character — looked as if she could easily stop his " parting," if she Avished ; and Avish, there was not the least reason to doubt, she Avould.

For the present, it Avas evident that nothing Avorthy the "name of enterprise could be undertaken, until, as Solomon expressed it, they had " faked " themselves up, and replenished their Avardrobe. He supposed they might reckon on a lodging and the run of their teeth at their father's for a day or tAvo at least, until they had time to look about them and turn themselves round ; but, for his part, the shorter they could contrive to make the visit the better he should enjoy it. There had been no expression of grief, beyond the conventional half-suppressed snivel, on the part of either brother Avhen the decease of their mother AA'as made knoAvn to them ; but the fact of her loss, and still more, the manner in Avhich her place had been filled up, affected both more than they Avould have cared to confess ; and rendered the idea of sojourning beneath their father's roof, for any length of time, most objectionable to them.

The conversation betAveen the tAvo brothers continued by fits and starts until it Avas evident that both were thoroughly tired of talking. Approach the subject of their present position as they might, they could not get beyond the fact that the case Avas critical, and that something must be done without delay. As to what that something should be, neither brother seemed able to offer anything like a practical suggestion. Vague references to the advisability of leaving England and endeavouring to effect a fresh start in a neAv field Avere made more than once by Solomon, but Barney did not appear to notice them. Gradually, under the influence of repeated applications of alcohol, the conversation became sombre and disjointed ; and at length Solomon, irritated at Barney's inattention and monosyllabic replies to his remarks, jumped up, put on his battered hat Avith an air of sullen ill-temper, and bounced out of the room and the house, leaving his brother to follow or not, as he might choose.

Barney rose, grumbling some thing about the folly of putting oneself in a "tear" about nothing, and sauntered lazily out after his junior. Not a Avord was said by either on the Avay back to their father's, where they arrived just as the household Avas sitting down to a promiscuous sort of meal, by courtesy denominated supper. The viands displayed, I. D. B Avithout any regard to symmetry of arrangement, upon the dirty and dilapidated cloth, Avhich partially covered the nakedness of a rickety deal table, Avere certainly not remarkable either for variety or appetizing appearance or savour. There Avas a large dish of fish fried in butter or grease of some sort, AA'hich looked and smelt oleaginous, and rancid at that ; and another dish con taining slices of some very coarse fish smothered in a thick yelloAv sauce, the pungent odour of AA'hich indicated vinegar as one of its principal ingredients.

A small plate of hot buttered toast graced the head of the table, Avhere sat Mr. Davis, Avith a toav of his immediate descendants on either side of him, Avhose expectant attitude — most of them had their mouths more or less Avide open — Avas remarkably suggestive of a nest of young rooks aAvaiting the return of the parent birds from a foraging expedition. An ancient metal teapot, Avith a dislocated handle, and abnormally tAvisted spout, occupied one hob of the tiny fire-place, Avhich held a few handfuls of smoky small-coal ; the hob on the other side being reserved for a disconsolate tin kettle, Avhose broken handle and knobless lid seemed to indicate a desire to retire from business at the earliest date compatible Avith its pro prietor's convenience. The illumination of this convivial scene Avas partially effected by the fitful jets of flame Avhich struggled AA'ith the smoke of the fire ; but Avas mainly due to the rays of a paraffin lamp, AA'hich had originally been designed to fit an ornamental bracket, but had noAv nothing more elegant than an ordinary red floAver-pot to look to for support.

The lamp smoked, and so did the fire ; and the smoke from both Avent up their respective chimneys, Avith the difference, that the smoke from the fire Avas placed to the credit of the external atmosphere, Avhile that from the lamp Avas reserved for the benefit of the party round Mr. Davis's table. The chairs, Avith the exception of an arm-chair occu pied by the head of the family, and looking as if it had seen better days, Avere a heterogeneous collection of cripples, not one of AA'hich could boast of being in possession of its original number of members ; some had lost legs, some rails, some backs, some bottoms, and, in most cases, no attempt had been made to repair damages ; Avhere such had been made they were of the most primitive and unsightly description. An ungainly, greasy deal cupboard occupied nearly the whole of one side of the room, a feAv dog's-eared books hung, desper ately aAvry, in a sAvinging shelf over the mantelpiece, and four or five smoke-blackened chromo-lithographs, in equally smoke-blackened frames, from Avhich the glass had long since disappeared, did their best to relieve the grimy monotony of the Avails.

A hideous piece of machinery, like an exaggerated gridiron — nothing more formidable than Avhat is ironically termed a sofa-bed stead — Avas doubled up beloAV the windoAV, and partially disguised under a shabby rug. The AvindoAv Avas curtain less, but as it gave on the back yard, that deficiency Avas not of much consequence, and the ragged yellow blind had jammed on the roller and could not be coaxed to cover more than half the glass, which, hoAvever, was so dirty that it Avas impossible to see I. D. B 14 anything through it distinctly. Before the fireplace lay the remains of Avhat had once been a gaudy hearth-rug, but it had lost so much of its nap from hard wear and frequent burns, that it resembled the outside of a singed cat, or a dog gone bald from mange. Carpet there was none, but as the boards Avere black Avith age and dirt, the absence of any covering Avas not so patent as would have been the case if the floor had retained its original complexion.

The ceiling AA-as slightly less black than the floor, and that is all that can be said for it. The party round the table looked up as the tAvo brothers entered, and Solomon, Avho was much more observant than Barney, noticed a momentary look of discontent on every countenance but that of his father, Avho seemed in better spirits, and gave them a more cordial Avelcome than Avhen they had first met him some hours before. The conversation round the supper table Avas on general topics, the tAvo brothers taking but little share in it. The meal Avas over by seven o'clock, and as soon as the cloth and crockery had disappeared under the joint exertions of the housekeeper and the eldest Miss Davis, a black-eyed, red-lipped, curly-headed hoyden of some seventeen summers, the younger members of the family assorted themselves on the floor, or at the table, and proceeded to amuse themselves till bedtime.

By the end of the first five minutes a battle royal Avas in full progress betAveen tAvo juvenile male Davises at the table over a game of all-fours, Avhile a smaller brother and sister had introduced a foreign element, in the shape of a hair-pulling match, into a game of dominoes, and the sounds of strife which came from the opposite side of the room showed that a contest Avhich involved the exhibition of much muscular energy, and the fracture of many walnut-shells, was not being conducted upon strictly pacific principles. The old gentleman had Avheeled his chair back from the table and sat dozing, his bald head covered with a greasy black silk skull-cap, his spectacles tilted up high on his forehead, and his fat hands crossed lovingly over his AA-aistcoat. He Avas evidently accustomed to the family Babel.

It is Avonderful through Avhat an infernal hubbub a dutiful pater familias can educate himself to slumber, especially Avhen he is aAvare, as Mr. Davis AA'as, that the day Avhen his remonstrance could effect any thing toAvards quelling the riot has long ago departed. Had he been a younger man, and a more prosperous one, Mr. Davis Avould probably have had recourse to the public-house, the refuge of so many persecuted husbands and fathers. But he was too old, and either too poor or too miserly to care for obtaining such temporary respite from his domestic annoyances as the parlour of an inn might afford. And so, night after night, he Avas in the habit of sleeping, or pretending to sleep, through the din Avhich prevailed from the time supper Avas cleared aAvay till the departure [of the younger members ofthe family to their dormitories.

It may easily be imagined that, in their present frame of mind, the racket soon became intolerably irritating to Barney and Solomon. At length the latter, after fidget ing and muttering for some minutes, jumped up, and drawing his arm through that of Barney, said, " Come I. D. B. on ; it's a mug's game loafing here, let's do a stroll till bedtime." " Where to ? and what's the use ? " objected Barney, pulling his arm aAvay pettishly. " Oh, anywhere out of this. I shall get the blues if I stop here." "Blues be bloAved ; I'm going to bed," returned Barney. And as his brother made his exit from the shop-door, he descended into the kitchen to make inquiries of the housekeeper as to the Avhereabouts of his sleeping quarters, Avhere, as he Avas thoroughly tired out, we may as well leave him for the present.

Chapter II

pigeons Solomon Davis stuck his hands deep into his pockets and strode along at a pace that soon left his native neighbourhood, Avith its noisome odours and offen sive sights, far behind him. He caught himself casting longing glances at the brightly-illuminated AvindoAvs of the better class of taverns ; and Avhen he found himself among the theatres, he turned the odd silver in his pocket more than once, as if half inclined to treat him self to a seat in the gallery. But he conquered the inclination, and continued walking fast, until he was checked by the stream of traffic passing through the gates in front of Charing Cross raihvay station. He sauntered into the station, and found the Continental express filling up rapidly. He attempted to pass the barrier on to the platform, but the ticket-collector, not admiring his appearance pro bably, refused to alloAV him through Avithout a ticket, although Solomon stoutly asserted that his mother Avas in the train, and that events of the highest importance depended upon his having some conversation Avith her before she left.

The stream of passengers was becoming thicker, and the ticket-collector, Avaxing impatient, pushed c I. D. B, Solomon aAvay from the barrier, recommending him at the same time to " send a Avire to Mrs. Moses," Avhich Avould be delivered to her at Dover. Solomon indig nantly repudiated the insinuation as to his nationality, and Avas proceeding to deliver himself of some very uncomplimentary opinions on the subject of the ticket collector's birth and breeding, Avhen a gigantic inspector Avalked him off to one of the exits, and, pointing through it, said : " Noav, young man, this isn't Hampton race course ; and if you've got no business here, and you don't look as if you had any that Avould benefit the raihvay company or the public, I'll just trouble you to leave as soon as may be convenient."

"Well, I Avas thinking of travelling by the Dover express, but I've changed my mind," replied Solomon, sloAvly moving off. " You might deliver a message for me though." " Well, what is it ? make haste." "Just give my kind regards to the Traffic Manager, and tell him I shall travel by the Chatham and Dover ; the South-Eastem officials are a heap too polite for me. Good night." A feAv steps brought him into the street, and a feAv more to the entrance of the billiard-rooms beneath the railway arches, where, in his palmy days, he had spent many a pleasant and profitable evening at the fascinating game of pool. The balls Avere clicking merrily, and the buzz of conversation, broken every noAv and then by the markers calling the scores, or the applause following a good stroke, sounded pleasant in Solomon's ears, and seemed to invite him to enter.

Pigeons 19 He looked doAvn at his shabby clothes, and stamped his broken boot upon the pavement, Avith a muttered oath. He did not like to risk meeting any one who had knoAvn him before the reverse in his fortunes. At length, hoAvever, having persuaded himself that the seediness of his attire would most likely escape notice by gas-light, and that he might as Avell take his chance of being recognized by former companions noAv as later on, he straightened himself up, pushed open one of the SAving doors, and marched in, as bold as if he had the Bank of England in his pocket. The tobacco-smoke hung so thickly about the room that the lights over the tables looked like so many jack o'-lanterns blinking through a fog, and it Avas several minutes before Solomon's eyes could accustom them selves to the haze sufficiently to enable him to make out Avhat Avas going on around him.