SAILORS' KNOTS

By W.W. Jacobs


1909



SENTENCE DEFERRED


[Illustration: "An elderly man with a wooden leg, who joined the
indignant officer in the pursuit."]

Fortunately for Captain Bligh, there were but few people about, and the
only person who saw him trip Police-Sergeant Pilbeam was an elderly man
with a wooden leg, who joined the indignant officer in the pursuit. The
captain had youth on his side, and, diving into the narrow alley-ways
that constitute the older portion of Wood-hatch, he moderated his pace
and listened acutely. The sounds of pursuit died away in the distance,
and he had already dropped into a walk when the hurried tap of the wooden
leg sounded from one corner and a chorus of hurried voices from the
other. It was clear that the number of hunters had increased.

He paused a second, irresolute. The next, he pushed open a door that
stood ajar in an old flint wall and peeped in. He saw a small, brick-
paved yard, in which trim myrtles and flowering plants stood about in
freshly ochred pots, and, opening the door a little wider, he slipped in
and closed it behind him.