By far the
greater part, moreover, of his education had been an attempt, not so much
to keep him in blinkers as to gouge his eyes out altogether.
But to return to my story. It transpired afterwards that Miss Maitland
had had no intention of giving Ernest in charge when she ran out of Mrs
Jupp's house. She was running away because she was frightened, but
almost the first person whom she ran against had happened to be a
policeman of a serious turn of mind, who wished to gain a reputation for
activity. He stopped her, questioned her, frightened her still more, and
it was he rather than Miss Maitland, who insisted on giving my hero in
charge to himself and another constable.
Towneley was still in Mrs Jupp's house when the policeman came. He had
heard a disturbance, and going down to Ernest's room while Miss Maitland
was out of doors, had found him lying, as it were, stunned at the foot of
the moral precipice over which he had that moment fallen. He saw the
whole thing at a glance, but before he could take action, the policemen
came in and action became impossible.
He asked Ernest who were his friends in London. Ernest at first wanted
not to say, but Towneley soon gave him to understand that he must do as
he was bid, and selected myself from the few whom he had named.
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