Free The King's Evil by Edward Marston Page B

Gentle snores rose up into the night air.
    After
waiting a short while, the man with the cudgel crept furtively up the garden to
investigate. Weapon raised, he stood menacingly over the nightwatchman but he
was not called upon to strike. The old man was fast asleep and unlikely to be
roused by any sounds. After beckoning his companions, the thief made his way
across to the tarpaulin which covered the building materials and which had been
protection enough until the pilfering began. Stakes had been hammered into the
ground so that the tarpaulin could be tied to them and thus rendered safe
against high winds. Since it would be their last visit to the site, there was
no point in untying the ropes, then later retying them to their stakes, as they
had done on previous occasions when trying to conceal their theft. A knife was
used to cut through the ropes then two of the men held a corner each of the
tarpaulin and drew it back to expose their target.
    Expecting
to see nothing more than piles of bricks and stacks of timber, they were taken
completely unawares when two figures suddenly sprang out at them. Christopher
Redmayne unleashed his pent-up rage by flinging himself at one of the thieves
and knocking him to the ground. Samuel Littlejohn, sweating profusely from his
close confinement beneath the tarpaulin, grappled with another man and showed
no mercy. It was not simply a case of apprehending the thieves. Architect and
builder alike wanted revenge. They were possessive about their house. It had been
defiled by intruders. It made the pair of them rain hard, unforgiving blows on
their respective quarries.
    Still
free, the man with the cudgel did not know whether to save himself or help his
fellows. In the event, self- interest won his vote. After a few ineffective
swings at Littlejohn with his cudgel, he took to his heels and raced towards
the boat which was moored at the jetty. He did not get far. Lurking in the
shadows was a bulky figure who stepped out to block his way. The cudgel swung
again but the blow was easily parried by a staff. Before the thief could defend
himself, the end of the staff jabbed deep into his stomach to take the wind out
of him then it clipped him hard on the side of the head. He dropped his cudgel
and fell.
    Jonathan
Bale caught him before he hit the ground.
    'Come,
sir,' he said. 'Let us get you back to your fellows.'
    The
constable gave a call and three watchmen came out of their hiding place to take
charge of the thief. When they had deprived him of a dagger, they dragged him
up the garden of the house.
    Surprise
had been decisive in catching the other men. Swiftly overpowered, they now lay
groaning on the ground. Christopher stood over them with a sword in his hand
while Littlejohn used an arm to wipe the perspiration from his brow. Blood
dripped from the builder's cheek but it was not his own. It belonged to the man
whose lip he had opened with his angry knuckles. Littlejohn was now panting
heavily but delighted with his night's work.
    'We
did well, Mr Redmayne,' he boasted. 'Very well.'
    'Not
well enough,' said Christopher. 'We only caught two of them.'
    'The
third is also taken,' announced a voice. 'I had thought to arrest all three
myself but it seems that you have done my office for me.'
    Christopher
and Littlejohn were amazed to see the constable coming towards them with the
thieves' accomplice in the grip of the watchmen. They were thrilled that all
the malefactors had been caught. In the gloom, Christopher did not at first
recognise the constable.
    'You
came at an opportune moment,' he said.
    'I
was acting on information, sir,' explained Jonathan.
    'Information?'
    'Yes,
sir. I was roused from my bed and advised that a crime was about to take place
on this site.'
    'Who
gave you such advice?'
    'Jesus-Died-To-Save-Me
Thorpe.'
    Littlejohn
was baffled. 'Who?'
    'A
neighbour of mine, sir. A Quaker. He chanced to overhear these rogues plotting
their crime. After following them here, Mr Thorpe came