Dig: Two Heads Wanted: A Novel

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Chapter I. A Very Nice Young Man

" Whom do we dub as gentlemen? The knave, the fool, the

brute— If they but own itiU tithe of gold and wear a costly suit: The parchment scroll of titled line, the ribband at the kne;*, Can still suffice to ratify, and grant such high degree; But Nature, withamatchle&shand, sends f^rthAtfrnobly born, And laughs the paltry attributes of wealth and rank to scorn; She moulds with care a spirit raro— half human, half divine, And cri^s ixiilting, * Who can make a gentleman like mine?"

—Eliza Cook.

In the year 1847 there was in that part of London lying between White Chapel road and Bishop's Gate street, a row of houses which cannot be better described than as a compromise between faded gentility on the one hand and absolute poverty on the other, leaning to all points of the compass and threatening to carry their inhabitants down in their fall, which seemed very near at hand.

In the most respectable and most perpendicular portion of this row stood the boarding house of Mother Sellers — who, to do her justice, was worthy of a much better portion than fell to her lot; for there was no denying that, although the house presented a most forlorn aspect on the outside, when you had once entered, a most satisfactory and comfortable change was apparent on every side; for this good lady, as some now living can testify, did keep her boarders in that comfort and good fare which many houses much more pretentious on the outside could lay no claim to. In fact, the good old lady suffered more from the outward appearance of things than any of her friends did — being the widow of Admiral Sellers, and able to show good blood, both on her own as well as on her husband's side, and not at all acquiescing in the hard fortune that compelled her, on the death of her husband, to endeavor to make both ends meet by taking care of that mixed lot of humanity that are to be found in a second-rate boarding house, no matter how respectable it may be.

In this house then, up two flights of stairs in a back room — and so, good reader, you see at once, the room as well as the house was second rate — in this room on the twelfth of April, 1847, sat a young man just verging into manhood. Any one looking upon this young man for the first time, would come to the conclusion immediately, that whatever might be the quality of the surroundings, he at least was not second rate.

Not only that indescribable air of manliness and physical beauty, (for that belongs to some men as well as women), but also that inborn regal air of good breeding, indicating good blood, as well as good looks in some of his ancestors; perhaps far back, perhaps near by in his mother, for this man left the impression upon you, which you found growing deeper upon acquaintance, that, with an almost womanly beauty, there was an iron physical frame, and that under a winning smile and a playful manner, that irresistibly attracted you, there lay smouldering fires that, like the hot lava from the crater, might, if aroused and let loose, carry everything before them

It might be supposed from the mass of papers, apparently legal documents, with t4 I^ig' ^^^ Heads Wanted*

which the only table in the room was covered, that this was the sanctum of some poor attorney striving to wade through the mysteries of a case, fortunately fallen into his grasp; but a skeleton standing in the corner, and sundry bottles and specimens preserved in spirits, occupying a glass cupboard, indicated that this was the office of a poor Esculapious, and not a disciple of Blackstone.

In fact, this man was a surgeon rather than a medical practioner, all his tastes and inclinations leading in the direction of surgery; but at this time he was uniting both professions, and endeavoring to make his way out of a labyrinth of debt into which he had become involved by living faster than his means would allow. As a consequence of the dificulties in which he had become involved with certain exacting tradesmen, who had grown tired of waiting for their bills to be paid, the young man had been compelled to give up a very good hospital practice, and instead of any longer following his own inclinations, . follow the only road that can lead to recovery from the disease of impecuniosity — that is, economy and self denial.

From a bed standing in one corner, it was evident that the cure was in progress; that this was the only room that the limited means of the doctor would allow. The largest paper, and the one that had last received attention, was evidently an important document, for it had been heavily sealed, and bore on the outside, in large, plain letters, this inscription : " The last wishes and instructions OF Walter Oldcroft, to His Son, Richard Oldcroft." Taken up and read — which, being necessary to the full understanding of this story, .we will now take the liberty to do — it ran thus:

^^ My Dear Son: — Feeling that soon the affairs of this earth will forever have passed away from me, I am urged by my own impressions, and by my sense of duty to you, to give an account, necessarily brief, of my life. A delicacy of feeling, natural timidity, and other considerations that you will understand upon reading this paper, have prevented my telling you these things before; but now, with the Judgment and the bar of God before me, my natural timidity, or, more properly, my shrinking from giving pain to any living thing, is all overcome, and lost in the pressing desire that, if possible, anything I can: do or say in my last moments, naay re^ suit in simple justice being done to you, my

1 6 ^^g' Two Heads Wanted.

child, (for I feel that perhaps I might have done more, but circumstances, that are often stronger than any human power, have seemed to baffle me; if I have erred, forgive me.)

" As you know, my father was Harry Oldcroft; a better or more indulgent father never lived. There were but two children of us, myself and the fiend in human shape that I was compelled to call brother. Ralph Oldcroft was a born tyrant. He was adapted, by his whole physical and mental nature, for this: overbearing, exacting, headstrong, and brutal to the whole family, which it was well was not a large one. I will do him the justice, however, to say that never, in a long life, spent in various parts of the world, have I met another who was his equal, in every respect, as to natural advantages, if only these gifts had been turned in the right direction. *

" With an iron, physical frame that bid defiance to dissipation of all kinds, with an art of pleasing, of saying nice things in a nice manner whenever he was in a good humor, or had some object to accomplish by these tactics; and on the other hand, the malignity of the arch*fiend himself, when he was in a villainous humor, or when he could not accomplish his desires by what he styled the soft-soaping operation, so that he generally accomplished his purpose, no matter what, and kept the whole of us in subjection.

"Even before my father's indisposition compelled him to give up all charge of his affairs, not a stick of timber could be cut, nor a pheasant shot; not a dog bark on the estate, but this seemingly omnipresent spirit of evil was upon it in an instant. It was a peculiarity of his, that although his dissipation was so flagrant as to be known through all the country around, yet, unlike most persons ot that temperament, he was sharp, long-headed, always on hand regulating the expenditures of the whole household, every individual member, and finally those of father himself.

"Our family was composed, besides those already mentioned, of Janet Summers, our faithful old housekeeper; Bob Keller, overseer of outdoor matters, and various other servants not necessary to mention ; but it is important you should know that faithful old Janet lives yet, and that Bob Keller occupies the same position with his old master, your uncle, at the place where he now lives, the % same where these circumstances I relate occurred.

" Bob Keller I knew to be of as perverse a disposition as Ralph; and good old Janet I knew to be the one that could be depended upon, and I always went to her after mother's death, at first to receive some comfort from her motherly nature, afterwards as the ally on my side against the encroachments of the tyrant; but I hardly dared to breathe a whisper within the four walls of any room in the house, for fear it would reach the ears of our task-master, and be followed, if not by blows, at lea^t by such a 'torrent of curses as would make the hair stand on our heads for twenty-lour hours thereafter.

'' I know,' if my dear old father had not been entirely overmastered and controlled, he would have finally left his immense estate so that his oldest son could not have exerted his power over us after his death; I know this most positively, from a circumstance that occurred immediately after the accident, which, as you are aware, hastened his death.

" My dear old father and I were always on the best of terms, and, while I could see he shrank with loathing from the beastly brute that ruled us both, he seemed to confide in me, and to hold me as, in some sense, the connecting-link between himself and the beloved mother who had gone to the place of final rest. Of course this manifestation on his part was utterly impossible when my brother was around, and our conferences were held in the utmost secrecy." '

io Dig. Two Iteads Wanted.

Chapter II. A Very Bad Young Man

" As the husband is, the wife is ; thou art mated with a clown, And the grossness of his nature will have weight to drag thee down ; He will hold thee, when his passion shall have spent its novel force, Something better than his dog, a little dearer than his horse."

—Alfred Tennyson.

" A few days before my father reached the seventy-first year of his age, in taking his usual horseback ride, as he neared the house on his return, his horse frightened at the sudden jumping of a dog through a hedge, sprang aside so suddenly that he was thrown from his saddle without being able to withdraw his feet from the stirrups. I was the only one near enough to attempt to stop the frightened animal as he came over the lawn at full speed with that helpless body hanging at his side ; but my muscles were like iron, under the excitement of the moment, and I succeeded,after receiving some severe bruises, in stopping the horse, and, with the assistance

Dig, Two lieads Wanted. 21

of others, in carrying the insensible man into the house.

"I supposed then that this, my almost only friend, was killed; but upon the arrival of medical aid, it was ascertained that he had received no injuries immediately fatal, but that undoubtedly, from present indications, the spine had been injured — to what extent time only would show\ From that time my poor father's days of moving about were almost numbered.

" One day, during my brother's absence, he sent for me to come to his room, and calling me very close to him — after having looked about the room as if he was afraid the walls hid some one waiting to catch his words — he said:

" 'Walter, my son, you saved my life. Come close, and never breathe a word to any living soul of what I tell you ; I have made my will, and it is in a safe place. You are to have one-half of the estate and Ralph the other half; when I am gone, take care of the old place as well as you can. I shall leave you enough money so that you may leave here, if that should seem to b? the best course.'

" It was two weeks after this occurrence that Ralph said to me: "I want you to get yourself ready and go down to Devonshire to attend to that business. This was a great surprise to me — for, in general, he never entrusted me with any business — and I feared some mischief was lurking under this proposal, so I made several excuses, when, as usual, he fiew into a violent passion, and, as usual, I gave up and went, first telling Janet my suspicions, and also telling her if it were possible to escape the argus-eyed vigilance of her keeper, to write to me of any unusual occurrence.

" On the morning of the third day, having completed the business sooner than I expected, and hurrying home as fast as steam could carry me, I received a dispatch from Janet, which I remember as if it were yesterday: ' Hurry home; your father is dying.' When I arrived at home my father was dead, and I found that during my absence two very important things had taken place, which will appear in time.

" Here was my dear father, dead, indeed, while the one for whom he expressed the most affection was purposely sent out of the way, and already a dark suspicion of treachery had taken possession of my mind.

" Immediately following the funeral, and at my brother's request — for he seemed to be, contrary to his usual temperament, in a nervous haste — the will was- produced and read. Did the will say what the now dead man had said to me only a few days before? Yes, the body of the will did, showing that what my father had told me at the private interview was really his intention. It left one-half of the estate to me and one-half to my brother Ralph; that is, when detached from its legal technicalities, which I will not repeat, that was it as plain as the English language, at least legal English language, could make it.

. "But that was not all. In a condicil made during my absence, all that portion of the will which left me one-half of the estate was revoked, and the whole left, unconditionally, to Ralph Oldcroft, the oldest son.

" That is the simple statement of the case, as it presented itself to me on that memorable morning, when I realized I had been cut off from all the hopes I had been led to indulge; and, as I thought, treated like a dog by one I had trusted and confided in. .

" How did the case present itself to me in the light thrown upon it by after events, and by a stolen interview with Janet Summers ? The simple truth told to me by the old woman, whom I always trusted implicitly, was this :

" After I left on my journey to Devonshire, my father immediately grew worse; as my brother's will was law in that house, she was not even allowed to send for a physician, my brother saying: 'There had been too much doctoring already,' and even driving the faithful old woman from the room when she tried to act the part of nurse.

" At one corner of my father's room was a closet, at that time not used for any purpose. The closet in times past had been a double one, and opened right against another closet in the opposite room. When the door was cut I do not know; but one had been cut for the purpose ol using the whole space on that side of the wall of the opposite room, as a general receptacle of cast-ofl' clothing.

"Here, then, the faithful Janet took her station the night before my father's death. Did her vigilance result in anything ? It resulted in the most astounding revelation, as far as I and my children are concerned, that the most fertile imagination could conceive of.

''She saw Ralph Oldcroft at the dead of night propping up this old man, whose spirit had almost fled to the other world, whose life must have been just flickering in the socket before going out forever; she saw this fiend prop bim up in bed, administer stimulants, and with the help of his good friend. Bob Keller, guide his failing fingers to put pen to paper. What paper ? Is there any need to ask ? This codicil was witnessed by Bob Keller and Mary Burkitt, one of the chamber-maids; who, upon being questioned by Janet, said she had been called into master's room early in the morning to witness this document. A little more persistence exerted in tracing up this part of the story, developed the fact that Mr. Keller had given the girl an entire new suit of clothes, and Ralph Oldcroft had given her one hundred pounds in money, for which fortune there is no doubt she would have been willing to sell herself, body and soul, to any one.

" This, then, was one very important thing that had happened during my absence. But I said there was another.

"There was, some months before this, a beautiful girl living as chamber-maid at the house of Lonsdale, whose estate joined the Oldcroft estate on the north. The name of this girl was Mary Morgan — at least that was the name she went by. She always made upon me the impression that she had before this lived in good society. I always liked her nice, winning ways; my brother always took a great deal of notice of her, so much so that it could not be passed over in silence ; and I was certain mischief must be brewing — as it was with everything he had anything to do with — but was not prepared for what followed, and was very much surprised when he took this girl, against the wishes of the Lonsdale family, into our house as chamber-maid; for I knew he was not accustomed to go to any unnecessary expense, and we certainly needed no more servants at that time.

"To make this portion of my story as short as possible, it appeared he had gained the affections of this confiding girl under the promise of marriage; and matters had proceeded so far that scandal and disgrace before the whole community on the one hand, or to get rid of his burden on the other, were the only alternatives. He chose shame before his own family in preference to shame before the whole community, and brought this confiding, trusting girl to his own house, not as his lawful wife, but as his mistress ; and there, not long afterwards, a child was born. This was bad enough so far, but worse was to come.

"As mother and child were doing well when I left home, I, in this instance, gave my brother credit for at least having a little humanity and feeling, and supposed that his intention was to provide a home and the necessaries of life for his victims.

" Upon my return mother and child were gone. My brother said Mary had concluded to accept his offer and go to a town not far distant, where he was to supply her with a liberal allowance, payable at stated times. I believed the story at the time, but after being enlightened with regard to the matter of the will, I could not believe it any longer.

" What were the facts, as after investigations, backed by the statements of Janet Summers, developed ?

On the morning of the day of my return both mother and child were found dead in bed. This was a fact that might be concealed from most of the household, but could not be hidden from Janet, as she was nurse for everybody in the house.

Assisted by Bob Keller my brother procured an old packing case to bury the bodies, but finding it too small — and being in a great hurry to get the bodies out of the way before my return — these two fiends used - their knives freely in packing their victims into the narrow coffin, and hurried it away to a nameless grave. So he had, indeed, sent mother and child to the best home that could be found for them, out of the reach of himself, and awaj^ trom all the trials of life.

Chapter III. A Climax And A Soliloquy

" Cursed be the social wants that sin a^inst the strenjrth of youth ! Cursed be the social lies that warp us from the living truth ! Cursed be the sickly forms that err from honest nature's rule ! C«rsed be the gold that guilds the stniiten'd forehead of the fool ! "

— Alfred Tennkiion.

"You will naturally ask, why I did not take steps to bring this monster of Crime to justice ? Take a sober second thought. What could an old woman and a comparatively helpless man do against the wisdom of Solomon, united to the malevolence of the arch-fiend himself? What could we do against two desperate men, not to say anything about the fact that at least four more of the servants were in league with the master in carrying out his wicked purposes ? I only obtained information from Janet by writing notes, which weie immediately destroyed.

" I had, indeed, serious thoughts of trjring

30 l^^g' Two Heads Wanted.

to force justice from the tyrant, but was afraid even to consult any one. Soon after this, matters were brought to a crisis in a way I could not have foreseen.

" On going one morning to the stables for my usual ride I found my horse was gone, and, not stopping to ascertain the reason of this unusual occurrence, I took a favorite horse of my brother's, and having rode for about an hour, (not as long as I was accustomed to), I returned the horse to the stable, as far as I know, in as good plight as when I had taken him out. I am certain of having used the horse with more care than I should have exercised had I been riding my own. The next day this favorite horse was very lame. I can only account for this fact on one supposition, and that I believe is the correct one: Bob Keller had lamed the animal for the purpose of getting me into trouble.

" Be this as it may, when my brother ascertained the facts in the case, I received more than the usual amount of cursing, until, not being able any longer to contain myself, I told the scoundrel what I knew of his villainies; that he had cheated me out of my lawful rights, and called him plainly a

MURDERER and THIEF.

" The effect my words had upon him was more of a surprise to me than I ever remember to have received from any other circumstance of my life. Had he gone wild with fury and struck me to the earth, it would have been just what I expected.

" He did no such thing. To be sure, he turned of a livid paleness at first, but, instantly recovering himself, he said: 'You have been shabbily treated, that is a fact, and I owe you some return for the trifling manner in which you have been treated with regard to the matter of the will and the estate. I must and will do something for you, and you may depend upon it; but you are too hasty in taking offence at me. I assure you I did not have the making of the will, or any voice in it; and you should not blame me for what was not my fault.' And so he went on for sometime, endeavoring to leave a favorable impression upon my mind.

" I was struck dumb with surprise. What did this mean ? There was but one reasonable supposition: he scented danger ahead, and wanted to conciliate me. Was it not possible I might yet get the upper hand of him ? For the rest of that day I indulged my imagination in all manner of wild plans but may lead you to justice — simple justice, I nbw say: do not force any quarrel; be patient — watt and hofe ; but if ever the time comes, in the good providences of God, when a way opens to do justice — simple justice — do it with all your might. God is a God of justice, and every one who works for justice is doing God's work.

" There are but two lives between you and the Oldcroft estate; these are the lives of Richard Oldcroft, and his only son Ralph, the younger. This son, as I know, inherits all the vices of his father, without his caution and foresight; is dissipated, and cannot last long in his present manner of living.

" There is one daughter, as far as I have been able to ascertain, of an unusually sweet, loving, good disposition, probably inherited from her mother, who was from one of the best families of England.

" I have thus, as far as possible, put you in possession of these facts, hnportant for you to know. I leave this communication in the hands of our most trusty friend, Theophilus Parker, to be given to you on your twenty-first birth day; and also leave with him, to be given to ycni when circumstances make it necessary, absolute proof that you are the child of Walter Oldcroft, born in lawful wedlock, and rightful heir to this immense estate.

" My dear boy, always remember that honesty, integrity, persistence and perseverance will win in any honorable calling. I leave you an unsullied name, and hope to meet you in a better world."

Having read the communication through the second thne, to fix what he considered the most important part of it in his mind, the young man stretched himself back in the chair with the air of one accustomed to take things easy. He seemed to be for a long time buried in thought, for the usual careless look departed from his face, and something nearly a frown took its place.

At length he seemingly arrived at a satisfactory arrangement of the matter in his mind, for he spoke aloud, (as persons much alone are apt to do, talking to themselves for want of better company): "My dear old father! how well I remember him. Yes, his only fault was that he cared too much for other people's welfare, and not enough for his own. I do not take after him. in that respect; nor, indeed, I think in many others. I am not of a forgiving disposition, or disposed to give up any of my rights. Will I follow his advice, and wait ? Good advice, but hard to follow in my circumstances. Here am I, the lawful heir to an immense estate ; and, while ethers, stained with every crime that can be named, are living at the top of the pot, I am here rotting in this filthy hole.

" The little estate that my father left me, what has become of that "i Gone, gone to the same place where three thousand pounds more have gone — into the coflers of this greas}^, grasping old Jew, Lazarus Operman. In plain English, I owe the aforesaid highly distinguished member of the underground board of trade three thousand pounds more than I have any immediate or remote prospect of paying. Now, what is the practical common sense view for me, Richard Oldcrolt, to take of these circumstances unfolded before me ? I think I am a pretty good hand at taking this kind of a view of matters; and it is a great pity I had not brought my mighty intellect to bear upon the legal profession ; then I could have settled this whole matter satisfactorily. But, instead of being a lawyer, I must go and be a surgeon, and cut up people's bodies instead of looking after their estates. But one thing nobody will dispute — I can cut up a body as neatly as any man in England, and epjoy it, too, which some others can't. Every one to his trade, say I.

" But, as aforesaid, what is the practical solution at which I have arrived, in view of the foregoing premises ? Simply this: to do what my dear father was advised to do so long ago — drop my present name, drop out of the edifying and delightful society of London, and appear in some other locality.