Gideon the Cutpurse (33 page)

* * *

Peter could not distinguish Gideon at first. There were three carts, each one surrounded by half a dozen uniformed guards on horseback carrying pikes. The four highwaymen who were to be hanged alongside Gideon were tied up in pairs. Gideon had a cart to himself and, like the other prisoners, he shared it with his own coffin. His arms were tied with the rope he would be hanged with, and he was facing backward. The condemned men had all been given a loose linen shirt to wear over their clothes and a kind of soft cap. It was impossible for Sir Richard to get close to Gideon because of the guards and all the people pushing up against the cart. The leader of the gang of highwaymen was notorious but popular with the crowd, and as the carts rolled slowly through the Oxford Road the condemned were cheered, and weeping girls threw flowers at the gang's leader.
"Gideon!" Peter shouted until he was hoarse. Eventually Gideon responded and scanned the crowd for a familiar face. When he spotted Peter, his face lit up and he smiled and nodded, for he was unable to wave. Sir Richard forced his way closer to the cart.
"Do not lose hope!" shouted Sir Richard. "There is time for the King's pardon to arrive yet! Do not lose hope--there is still time!"
Peter waved and waved and gave Gideon the thumbs-up sign and smiled as hard as he could, even though he felt that his heart was breaking. Then Sir Richard was forced to fall back, and they followed Gideon's cart, always keeping him in sight so that he knew he was not alone. After an hour the procession stopped at a tavern so that the prisoners could have a last drink, and, as Sir Richard commented, any delay that would allow the King's messenger to arrive in time was very welcome.
Then the carts set off on the last stage of their journey. Progress was slow through the packed streets. However, by half past ten they left London behind, and the rolling hills of Middlesex came into view. By a quarter to eleven they caught their first glimpse of the place of execution: Tyburn.

* * *

Thirty thousand people were crammed around a simple wooden scaffold against a setting of green fields. The sun was now high in the sky and it was becoming uncomfortably hot. A single oak tree rose up against the horizon, offering some shade for those lucky enough to be able to sit beneath its branches. The crowd was chaotic. Soldiers and children jostled with beggars and gentlemen for a good spot. Some were on horseback and some were standing, packed like sardines, on carts and wagons. Children sat perched on their parents' shoulders. Many carriages, including the two owned by Sir Richard, were scattered around the perimeter of the crowd. Those with money sat on specially constructed wooden stands called Mother Proctor's Pews. Sir Richard rode to the back of the stands and pushed his way along the edge of them until he and Peter had a clear view of the scaffold.
When the carts arrived, the crowd went quiet. Peter looked frantically around for any sign of the King's messenger. How could he spot him? It was hopeless. They needed more time! Please let them have more time! He hoped the highwaymen would be hanged first to give the messenger a few more precious minutes to arrive. And then Peter realized what a terrible thing he had wished for and felt ashamed. He looked around him at the grotesque spectacle. It was shameful. Why were all these tens of thousands of people drawn here? Why were they compelled to look at another's death? What did they get from it?
Peter looked over toward Mother Proctor's Pews, where Lord Luxon sat. He had hired, as was his custom, two full rows of seats, at enormous expense. He was surrounded by pretty women dressed in white with flowers in their hair, and by fops and macaronies, all of whom were in high spirits and eating chicken legs and gulping down wine from the bottle. Lord Luxon, too, was all in white. But he was not eating. Behind the forced smile of a gracious host at a social gathering, his fragile mask was beginning to crack. It seemed to Peter that his wild eyes revealed some of the guilt and horror he must now surely feel.
Sir Richard, too, was observing Lord Luxon. "That man," he said coldly, "will reap what he has sown in this world, or in the next."

* * *

But it was not the highwaymen who were to be hanged first. Peter's heart sank as he watched Gideon's cart being guided underneath the gallows. The guards helped him to his feet, untied the rope that bound his arms, formed it into a noose, and put it around Gideon's neck. There was a murmur of excited anticipation from the crowd.
"No!" screamed Peter uselessly. "He's innocent! You can't do this!"
Sir Richard turned to Peter. "We must now despair of the King's pardon arriving in time. Are you ready to play your part?"
"I am."
The Newgate Ordinary climbed up beside Gideon and read from a small black Bible. Peter saw his friend's lips move in prayer. Suddenly a slight young man with brown hair similar to his own pushed forward toward the cart. Peter saw Gideon start at first in surprise, and then put his arms around the weeping figure.
"It's Joshua, Gideon's half brother," exclaimed Sir Richard, tears welling in his eyes. "I must go to him. I visited Joshua two days ago on Gideon's request to tell him that he must on no account come to Tyburn and that he could rely on me to find him another position. I pity him for he has no one else in the world. Wait here while I fetch him--Joshua should not be alone and perhaps he can help us."
Sir Richard dismounted and then seemed to change his mind.
"Peter, I fear there may not be enough time. You must get to the carriage by yourself as quickly as you can. Are you able to ride my horse through this crowd?"
"I'll do my best, sir."
"Good."
Sir Richard set off toward the scaffold, shoving people roughly out of his way in his haste. Peter watched Joshua clinging to his half brother. Peter felt he should be up there with him too. He wanted so much to say sorry for all of this--if it weren't for him and Kate and the stupid antigravity machine, Gideon would be safe and sound in Derbyshire.... He remembered Gideon telling the Honorable Mrs. Byng at Baslow Hall that he should be happy if he did not see Tyburn again in his entire life. And here he was, scarcely two weeks later, with a noose around his neck. Gideon must not die! He must not die! Peter did not even notice that his own face was wet with tears. He looked over at Lord Luxon in Mother Proctor's stands, and a rush of hatred surged through him. He wanted to drag him off the wooden stands and place
him
under the gallows instead. He wanted to--
"Peter! Peter!" It was Kate's high voice that reached him across the crowds. "Move! Get here
now
!"
Peter did not need to be told twice--he urged Sir Richard's horse forward, screaming at people all the while to get out of his way. It became easier as he approached the perimeter and the crowd grew less dense. Soon he managed to rejoin Kate and the parson at the carriage, and he clambered in. Kate took hold of Peter's hand and together they watched through the window and waited.
Sir Richard, meanwhile, had managed to reach Gideon's cart and had peeled the wretched Joshua from his half brother. Sir Richard then plunged back into the crowd, dragging Joshua behind him, but not before he had embraced Gideon and whispered "Courage!" into his friend's ear. Parson Ledbury motioned furiously to them from the carriage window to hurry up, until his attention was suddenly taken by a commotion on the scaffold.
Just as the Newgate Ordinary was climbing out of the cart, a man in a three-cornered hat leaped onto the scaffold, scattering a group of confused soldiers as he did so. He raised his hands high above his head for silence. A single soldier jumped onto the scaffold next to him, but the man with the hat possessed such authority that when he gestured to the soldier to wait until he had finished speaking, the soldier merely stood there meekly and obeyed. Gideon, the noose around his neck, looked on, amazed.
Kate gasped.
"It's the Tar Man!" Peter exclaimed.
The Tar Man waited until he had got the crowd's attention before speaking. He pointed an accusing finger directly at Lord Luxon in the front row of the stands.
"It is not too late, my lord, to stop this execution!" the Tar Man cried. "He is innocent of the crime, as well you know! I ask you to admit that you have been mistaken about Mr. Seymour!"
Lord Luxon stood up, and although clearly shocked to see his henchman, he remained an elegant and dignified figure and only the tendons in his neck belied his cool exterior. He clutched a lace handkerchief.
"I am surprised to see you at Tyburn, Master Blueskin. I thought it was your custom to avoid all places of execution. But you are impertinent, sir. Mr. Seymour has been found guilty of his crimes and must pay the penalty this day. I pray you withdraw from this place, as you do not appear to have the stomach for justice."
The Tar Man's scar glowed white in the strong sunshine as he returned his employer's haughty stare. "I believe it was on account of my strong stomach that you hired me. Come, my lord, it is easy to draw hasty conclusions from scant evidence, and I have received information about Mr. Seymour that, shall we say, makes me urge you--
strongly
--to withdraw your allegation. For is there anything more odious than to permit a man to hang for a crime he did not commit?"
"You speak out of turn, Blueskin. I shall expect an explanation of your intolerable outburst later."
"Then as God is my witness I denounce you as a liar!"
The crowd gasped. The Tar Man was well known and his name spread like a brush fire from one side of the crowd to another--"Blueskin!" was on everyone's lips. "Blueskin! Blueskin!"
"Guards, remove this man at once!" barked Lord Luxon to the soldiers standing to attention around the scaffold. "This man is surely in league with the condemned felon!"
Peter could scarcely believe this turn of events. Since when did the Tar Man care about Gideon?
"What's he up to?" he said to Kate. "The Tar Man is Gideon's worst enemy!"
"I don't know, but it sure looks like Lord Luxon's got on the wrong side of him."
The Tar Man, a dark, feline figure, jumped down in one bound from the scaffold and started to push his way toward Lord Luxon, who feigned indifference. Sensing trouble, the sergeant sent half a dozen soldiers after the Tar Man, and, with difficulty, they overpowered him. The Tar Man was not cowed but stood within spitting distance of his employer, straining against his captors, his arms forced behind his back.
"The new gamekeeper arrived from Abinger this morning and let slip something he shouldn't have," he hissed into Lord Luxon's face. "After a little persuasion he admitted that you had spoken of the matter with him. Can it be true what he told me about Mr. Seymour?"
What color there was in Lord Luxon's cheeks faded away. He remained silent.
"Damn your eyes, Luxon. Admit it or deny it, but don't play with me!"
The soldiers dragged the Tar Man away. "Is it true!"

* * *

At first the crowd did not know how to react, but then, when they saw Lord Luxon standing up and trying to slip away, a great booing and hissing began, and people started to throw anything they could lay their hands on at the retreating figure, who lacked the courage to witness the consequences of his actions. Fruit, oyster shells, and bread were catapulted into the air. Lord Luxon lifted up his arms to protect himself. Several of the fops and macaronies were hit by the projectiles that failed to reach their target. Not one of them came to Lord Luxon's aid. The holiday atmosphere had vanished, and the crowd was transformed into a mob. The sergeant knew that if he was to prevent a riot he was going to have to escort Lord Luxon away as quickly as possible. Within moments a circle of soldiers had surrounded the lord and were maneuvering themselves, turtle-like, away from the scaffold and the chanting mob.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Parson Ledbury. "You'd have thought the Tar Man was in league with us! Why, we are already rid of half the guards, and the crowd is whipped into a frenzy without us lifting a finger!"

* * *

Sir Richard and Joshua reached the carriage. This was no time for introductions. Peter and Kate were pushed into the larger carriage and the blinds firmly shut. Sir Richard, the parson, Dr. Dyer, Joshua, and even Jack, who held Hannah's hand tightly, were given large metal dishes and hammers and rods. Sidney was given a snare drum.
"Go now! Go to your places and follow Sidney's lead. As soon as Gideon has spoken his last word, make enough noise to bring down the angels from heaven!"

* * *

With the Tar Man under armed guard behind the scaffold and Lord Luxon escorted from Tyburn, the crowd had grown calmer. The officer decided that it would be best to get the hanging of the wretched Mr. Seymour over and done with before his audience got bored and fractious. Jack Ketch, as all hangmen were called, appeared on the scaffold, and an expectant hush descended on the crowd. They had come to see a man die, and they hoped he would die well, and so grew quiet in order to be able to hear his last words.
Gideon Seymour was unknown to the vast majority of the crowd, but the Tar Man's support of him predisposed them in his favor. Thirty thousand pairs of eyes focused on the small figure with a rope around his neck. Gideon stepped forward and spoke. His voice rang across the fields of Tyburn, and the crowds shuffled forward in order to hear him the better.
"I do not deny that I have done wrong," he said in a loud, strong voice that trembled only slightly. "And before God and the people I say that I truly repent of my sins. But I am not guilty of those crimes of which I am accused. Nor have I led a more wicked life than that of my betters who have seen fit to bring me here to this accursed place. I stole food when I was starving, and I know that I am not alone here in having to choose between life and breaking God's law."
There were murmurs of approval.
"Yet I tell you that I have seen the future and in that distant land there will be justice! No one shall be driven by poverty to a life of crime and deceit! Live in the hope that better things are yet to come and that if individual men are wicked, the heart of our nation is sound, and we shall create our own paradise on earth."
The crowd now broke into cheers. Flowers were thrown onto the scaffold.
"Life is sweet, my friends! Do not waste a moment of it! Fare thee well!"
Gideon took out a coin from his pocket and presented it to Jack Ketch. The hangman took a step closer to Gideon and adjusted the rope around his neck. Girls in white dresses took out their handkerchiefs. The crowd drew its breath, but then, abruptly, the staccato beat of a drum sounded from the back of the scaffold. And all around them there was the clanging of metal on metal, and shouts, and the sound of pistols being discharged. No one knew where to look. The soldiers were in disarray, wondering where to go to put a stop to the uproar. After a few moments a single note of a horn silenced the disturbers of the peace. The horn sounded again, rich and clear. Everyone was searching for the horn player. Jack Ketch stepped away from Gideon, unwilling to proceed during this commotion. Then gasps could be heard, and people started to point at two figures hovering on the top of a black and gold carriage.
"Look!" went up the cry. "Angels are come among us!"
Peter and Kate, dressed in white and gold, with wreaths of golden leaves upon their heads, stood like statues, balanced on small metal stands that from a distance were invisible. They appeared to be floating.
Then Peter pressed Gideon's horn to his lips. He blew again, three long notes as if to gain the crowd's attention. And then Kate began to sing: at first just notes and trills, all very high and melodious, and then, when she had everyone's rapt attention, she sang words, too.
"Help him, oh my people!" she sang. "For he is without sin. Do not let the blood of an innocent man stain this soil! Help him, oh my people! Let him be lifted on your shoulders and delivered into the arms of those who love him. Help him, oh my people! Help him!"
Kate then gestured for Joshua, Dr. Dyer, and Sir Richard to join her. They had just arrived, panting, from their positions along the circumference of the crowd. They climbed up onto the roof of the carriage and stood on either side of Kate and Peter with arms open as if in supplication. At this point, and to the astonishment of the crowd, the two angels gradually started to fade and in another moment they had disappeared into thin air. For a second there was total silence. No one spoke and no one moved. And then pandemonium broke out: People screamed and clung to each other.
Sir Richard looked anxiously over at the scaffold. What was the crowd going to do? Inside the carriage Peter and Kate struggled to pull off their costumes and peeped out through a crack in the blinds. They waited an agonizing minute, scarcely daring to breathe.... Then they made out a group of men clambering onto the scaffold.
"Come on, lads!" a gruff voice shouted. "You heard 'em!"
On the cart Gideon felt the rope being removed from his neck and found himself being carried down into the crowd. He was passed over people's heads like a raft, hundreds of hands helping him on his way over this sea of well-wishers. It was not only Gideon who was saved; the crowd also cut the bonds of the highwaymen, who made their escape without the soldiers being able to lift a finger to prevent them. The officer bawled frantic orders at his men but to no avail. The Tar Man, too, slipped away, unnoticed in all the confusion.
Peter opened the carriage door, and Gideon was deposited at his feet. Sir Richard and the parson piled in after him.
"I am saved!" cried Gideon. "God has granted me a second chance! Thank you! Oh, thank you!"
Everyone had tears in their eyes.
"No problem," said Peter. "Any time."
Kate burst out laughing and Peter had to agree that nothing he could think of saying could quite match up to the occasion. Gideon pushed himself up and sat down heavily on the leather seat of the carriage, letting out an enormous sigh of relief. He looked at Peter, who was still crouching on the floor of the carriage, and grinned at him and pushed him over with the sole of his foot.
"Did you have to wait until the noose was around my neck? Could you not have rescued me before I thought I was about to depart this earth?"
"Well, we didn't want to disappoint the crowd.... They were looking forward to it," replied Peter, handing Gideon's horn back to him.
Gideon laughed and took back his horn. "It would have gladdened my father's heart to see how his horn helped to save his son."
"And we had welcome if somewhat puzzling assistance from your adversary!" said Sir Richard. "I cannot say I understand it, but I am glad the Tar Man chose so opportune a moment to discover his fondness for you! He will soon be seeking a new employer--for after today's outburst I doubt Lord Luxon will tolerate him under his roof!"
"I fancy the Tar Man has had enough of employers," replied Gideon. "I know it is his ambition to be master of his own destiny. Besides, you misread his motives, for I can scarce believe that it was my plight alone that provoked his compassion. I am certain that it was his own young self that he saw on the scaffold today, falsely accused and hanged, not me. When first he came to Tempest House, Lord Luxon was rash enough to promise to help him clear his name."
"I see," said Sir Richard. "A foolish thing to break one's promise to the likes of the Tar Man! Although I wonder if there is more to the Tar Man's actions than you suspect. But come, my friends, we have no time to lose. This is not the fastest of carriages, and we must not squander whatever advantage we have."
Sidney, Hannah, Jack, and the parson climbed up into the second carriage, then Sir Richard rapped on the carriage roof as a signal to the driver that they were ready. The carriages set off at a gallop for Hampstead Heath, and there was nothing the soldiers could do to stop them. The crowd watched clouds of dust rise into the air as Sir Richard's carriages receded into the distance, and, unlike Mr. Seymour and his rescuers, the crowd had a good view of the Tar Man clinging on for dear life to the back of the second carriage. The day's entertainment was over, but as hanging days went, this had been a good one.