Shadow of great britain

Chapter 12 The Mysterious Gentleman

Mrs. Peel's words can be described as both soft and hard words.

Everyone present was discerning, and everyone could see that the exquisitely crafted parasol was of great value.

But if George Morris is really invited to testify in court, then even if he is beaten to death, he will not be able to admit that this thing is of high value.

As a young congressman who has finally climbed out of a difficult election campaign, if he is tied to a vote-buying scandal as soon as he is elected, his bright political career will undoubtedly fall to the bottom immediately.

Although everyone knows that vote-buying is nothing new these days, whether they are the Whigs or the Tories, they have tacitly kept this matter under the table and quietly maintained a tacit understanding of their competitors' vote-buying behavior. silence.

If anyone is stupid enough to expose this matter and dare to risk the disapproval of the world, no matter what his background is, everyone will join forces to suppress him.

Newcomers like George Morris, who are still inexperienced, obviously do not have the courage to challenge the bosses of the two parties and senior members of Congress, and are not ready to jump out and destroy everyone's jobs.

Of course the magistrate knew what was going on here.

He didn't even bother to call George Morris to testify because he knew the guy wouldn't tell the truth.

If Maurice was pushed into a hurry, the guy might even insist that the parasol was worthless.

The magistrate would not be surprised if he told nonsense such as that all of the hundred umbrellas were the result of a sudden enlightenment on the art of umbrella-making at home, and that he worked on it overnight.

As an old judge who has served for more than 20 years, he has seen too many such things.

The magistrate pretended to ponder: "Mrs. Peel, given your good reputation, I trust your judgment. But if this parasol is just an insignificant souvenir..."

Before he could finish his words, the jurors in the audience began to boo.

"And it's still unremarkable."

"It's not worth much."

“It’s too rough to use as a toy for my son.”

"Mr. Judge, how long do you think the sentence should be for stealing a toy?"

The judge smiled helplessly: "I think ten days is about the same."

The jurors couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

"That's what you said."

"We feel we can make a call."

"Yes, we think little Adam is guilty of stealing toys."

Mrs. Peel glanced at the lively members behind her and said with a smile: "Mr. Judge, it seems we don't need to hold an out-of-court discussion. The members unanimously believe that Adam Evans is guilty, and you can make a verdict. "

In this regard, the magistrate was happy to take it easy. He still had many cases to hear today, and there was no need to waste time on little Adam.

Boom!

The gavel fell.

The magistrate solemnly announced: "The jury found that the defendant Adam Evans was guilty. Here, in the name of the London Magistrates' Court and with reference to the relevant legal provisions, I sentenced the defendant Adam Evans to ten years. days' imprisonment, and a fine of one shilling."

"Long live!!!"

The jurors cheered.

Little Adam's eyes filled with tears, and he couldn't stop thanking the magistrate: "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Judge."

While sorting the documents on the table, the magistrate said to little Adam with a smile: "You should go thank Officer Arthur."

"Yes, I will." Little Adam turned to look at Arthur and bowed deeply to him: "Mr. Police Officer, you saved my life."

Arthur smiled and said nothing. He just walked up and patted him on the shoulder, then took out a shilling from his pocket and walked towards the magistrate.

"Mr. Judge, this is his fine. I paid it for him."

The magistrate raised his thick white eyebrows and joked: "You want to fight me for this kind of thing? There is no way. Paying this shilling for little Adam is more than what I get from going to church ten times." There is a lot of piety. This kind of good thing cannot be left to you, take it back."

Arthur also joked: "Then when you go to heaven, remember to help me keep a good place next to you."

"No need, Arthur."

The magistrate stood up holding the document. He smiled and said, "Because by then you will be in a position that is closer to God than I am. I still need you to help me say a few nice words in front of God."

"Is it within the scope of the law?"

"Of course, I'm a judge."

The two looked at each other and smiled, and Arthur turned around and said goodbye: "Goodbye, Mr. Judge."

The voice of the justice of the peace sounded behind him.

"Can I still see you here?"

Arthur's footsteps paused: "Probably, not anymore."

The magistrate was silent for a while, and then said: "Arthur, listen to my advice. Keep doing it, or you will regret it. You are suitable for this profession, and I can't find anyone more suitable for this profession than you. .I hate all the police at Scotland Yard, but you are an exception. Everything will be fine with you here."

Arthur did not answer the magistrate's request to stay. He just put the police officer's uniform on his shoulders, put one hand in his trouser pocket, and waved lightly at the other person with the other hand.

Then, he walked away from the court hearing without saying a word, as if he had never been there.

The magistrate looked at his retreating back and sighed heavily.

"The young people these days..."

The court clerk who was sitting under the judge looked back at the old judge and then at Arthur who had already walked out of the court. He held the pen in his hand and endured it for a long time. Finally, he lost his temper and got up and chased him out.

"Officer Arthur, wait!"

When the magistrate saw this, he couldn't help laughing and sighed.

"The latest young man!"

Arthur walked out of the court. In front of him was the busy street, and above his head was the clear and sunny sky.

The wind blew through the treetops, picking up dust and confusing his eyes.

Arthur raised his hand to cover his eyebrows, looked up at the blue sky, and muttered: "It's a rare good weather, but the sun is too dazzling."

A black high-end carriage was parked on the street in front of the court, and a middle-aged gentleman wearing a black top hat and a gold-rimmed monocle was waiting there.

He saw Arthur coming out of the door and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Officer Arthur."

Arthur looked at the other person's appearance carefully and asked doubtfully: "Do I know you?"

The other party smiled: "You don't know me, but I know you. That was a wonderful speech just now, wasn't it? Although I just came to relax, even though I was sitting in the gallery of the court, I was still I was moved by the contagious content of your speech.”

"Thank you for supporting my work."

"To be honest, you are the most perfect image of a police officer in my mind. You are calm, calm, intelligent, confident, just, aggressive and yet measured. Your words and deeds are exemplary, and you are worthy of your example in every word and deed. You A source of pride for all of Scotland Yard.”

Arthur smiled reluctantly. This was the second person to praise him so much today.

"I don't know if I deserve such praise, but that doesn't matter anymore. From tomorrow on, I won't be a Scotland Yard policeman."

The middle-aged gentleman asked: "Are you really not considering continuing to work at Scotland Yard?"

Arthur nodded, wanting to speak but feeling something was wrong.

His hand fumbled in his trouser pocket for a while, and suddenly he touched the pipe that Elder had given him this morning. The tobacco in it had not been finished yet. He just took a few puffs this morning and then put it out. At this time, he could take it out for pie. Useful.

The middle-aged gentleman saw Arthur taking out his pipe, so he naturally took out a match from his pocket and lit it for him.

Arthur took a deep breath, but was choked to tears.

But he still endured the discomfort and expressed his gratitude to the other party: "Thank you for your help, sir."

The middle-aged gentleman smiled and said, "So you don't know how to smoke."

Arthur took another sip, frowned and replied: "I just learned it this morning. The team used to have discipline and didn't let us smoke in public places, so I have never touched this thing before."

"Then why do you want to learn this?"

Arthur held his pipe in his mouth, and he felt bad no matter how he smoked it.

The smell of smoke was bitter and astringent, and the smoke produced by burning tobacco was very choking, making him feel uncomfortable all over his body.

"After I quit this job, I'm going to go to sea. I heard that if you want to get along with the sailors, you have to be good at smoking and drinking. Otherwise, life on the ship will be difficult."

"Have you found a boat?"

"That's right. The Royal Navy's HMS Beagle is preparing to embark on a global scientific research voyage and is short of a naturalist."

The middle-aged gentleman's eyes showed a look of regret: "I am really disappointed to lose such an excellent police officer like you. This is a loss for Scotland Yard and a loss for the citizens of London. But I respect your choice."

"Thank you for your respect. Goodbye then, sir. Thank you for the matches."

After saying that, Arthur lifted his legs and left there.

But before he left for long, he saw two police officers, Tom and Tony, crawling out.

They chased and shouted in the direction Arthur was going.

"Arthur, please don't be impulsive! We can't lose you! Oh, oh, oh, I'm such a loser. You shouldn't have to bear these things."

"My son must go to the University of London in the future! Even if Oxford and Cambridge don't charge tuition fees, he still has to go to the University of London!"

When the middle-aged gentleman saw this scene, he felt a little bit amused.

While he was admiring the long-distance running competition between the two police officers Tom and Tony, someone suddenly disturbed his interest.

"Sir, did you just see a man wearing a white shirt and a police uniform draped over his shoulders walking out of here?"

The middle-aged gentleman turned around and saw that it was the young court clerk who asked the question.

"You mean Officer Arthur? Do you have anything to do with him?"

"Yes, do you know Officer Arthur?"

The court clerk said in surprise: "That's great! That's right, although I am a court clerk, at the same time, I also work part-time as an interviewer in a newspaper.

Officer Arthur's speech today was so inspiring that I wanted to print it in our newspaper. I was wondering if you could forward this request to me? "

After hearing this, the middle-aged gentleman touched his chin and thought for a while, then suddenly replied with a smile.

"I will convey it to you. I don't think he will refuse this request. Can I ask, which newspaper do you write for?"

The court clerk replied sheepishly: "That... is not a big newspaper, just a newspaper with a small circulation called "Observer Daily". Why do you ask this?"

The middle-aged gentleman smiled and said: "Nothing, I just happen to know a few editors of The Times, and they are worried about the lack of manuscripts recently.

If you don't mind, after your manuscript is written, can you allow them to reprint it?

I believe they will not hesitate to pay.

Even if you do me a favor, do them a favor. what do you think? "

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