May 15, 2025 • 37 mins
Step into the world of Victorian London, filled with humor, crime, and adventure. Follow a unique group of men who, having exhausted lifes pleasures, form a Burglars Club for some much-needed excitement. Here, membership comes with a price - a city burglary as an entrance fee, set by their president. Every other year, each member needs to maintain his subscription through a provincial line. This gripping tale skillfully intertwines the thrill of crime with the charm of camaraderie.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seven of The Burglars Club, a romance in twelve chronicles.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. The Burglars Club by Henry Augustus
(00:25):
Herring The Great Seal. The Honorable Richard Hilton stared at
the typewritten letter with distinct feelings of pleasure. This is
what he read, Sir, I have the honor to inform
you of your election as a member of the Club,
(00:46):
conditional upon your attendance on the fifth Proxemo, with the
Great Seal of the United Kingdom, procured in the usual way,
yours faithfully, the Honorable Secretary. That's good, he ejaculated. Ribston's
(01:06):
a trump. But what on earth's the Great Seal of
the United Kingdom? And where is it to be found?
Mister Hilton's library was chiefly devoted to sport and fiction,
and he could find no reference to it therein. He
(01:26):
had therefore to make inquiries outside. When he learnt that
the Great Seal of the United Kingdom was the property
of the Lord Chancellor for the time being, that it
was a very important object, indeed, its impression be and
requisite at the foot of the highest documents of state,
(01:48):
and consequently that its unexpected absence might very well upset
the nation's affairs and incidentally bring serious trouble upon any
one one who had tampered with it. Mister Hilton's sporting
instincts were roused. It seems to me, he thought, that
(02:11):
this is going to be the best thing I have
had on since I walked across Tibet disguised as a
second class Mahatma. But where does the Chancellor keep the thing?
He skimmed through many biographies of Lord Chancellor's with very
little result. One of them, it appeared, kept the Great
(02:36):
Seal with his silver. Another always carried it about with
him in a special pocket and slept with it under
his pillow, while a third stored it at the Bank
of England. History was discreetly silent as to how the
other one hundred and one keepers of the Great Seal
(02:58):
guarded their property. Mister Richard Hilton contemplated his notes with disgust.
I never could rely on books, he said, There's nothing
for it but to find out for myself. The present
man probably keeps it where any other common sense fellow
(03:21):
would He'll have a library, so it may be there.
He's a good liver, so it may be in a
secret bin in his wine cellar. He's a sportsman, so
it may be in a gun case under his bed.
I shall have to look round and find out where
(03:44):
does he live. His lordship's town residents was Shipley House, Kensington, Gore.
Hilton took a walk in that direction. The house looked
as unpromising and unsimple pathetic a subject for robbery as
a metropolitan magistrate could have wished. The spiked railings in
(04:08):
front of the high wall at the back would have
suggested to most people the impossibility of the enterprise, but
mister Hilton simply noted these items with interest, and then
adjourned to a light lunch at his club to think
the matter out. It was one o'clock in the morning
(04:31):
when mister Hilton scaled the wall at the rear of
the Lord Chancellor's house. Though it was nine feet high,
it presented no difficulties to a next lieutenant in the navy,
but he got over carefully, for he was in evening dress,
believing that to be the safest disguise for a general burglar.
(04:55):
He dropped lightly on the turf, and then made his
way across the house and commenced a careful inspection of
the basement windows. To his intense surprise, he found the
lower sash of one of them to be open. This
astonishing piece of good luck meant the saving of at
(05:18):
least an hour. With a cheerful heart, he entered the house,
finding his way by the electric flashlight which he carried.
His passage to the Great Hall upstairs was easy. Here
he halted to take his bearings. He was at the
(05:38):
foot of the marble stairs for which Shipley House was famous.
Once they had stood in front of Nero's Villa at Antium.
But oblivious of his historic surroundings, mister Richard Hilton stood
wondering which of the four doors on his left led
(06:00):
to the library. One after another, he cautiously opened them,
only to find living or reception rooms. He crossed the
hall and got into the billiard room, where on earth
was the Lord Chancellor's den. Ah those heavy curtains under
(06:21):
the staircase, he passed through them. There was a short
passage with a door at the end. Hush, what was that?
He listened intently. It was nothing, merely nervous fancy. He
turned the handle of the door and entered. He was
(06:45):
in the Lord Chancellor's library, But heavens he was not
there alone. For a moment, he drew back in dismay,
but the singularity of the other man's occupation arrested him.
He was kneeling on the floor before the wall at
(07:05):
the far end of the room. He had a lamp
or candle by his side. What on earth was he doing?
Had he surprised the Lord High Chancellor, the keeper of
the King of England's conscience, worshiping by stealth at some
pagan shrine? What were the rites he was performing? Curiosity
(07:31):
impelled mister Hilton forward. As he drew nearer, the situation
unfolded itself. He had done the Lord Chancellor an injustice.
It was not he. A man was kneeling before a
safe built into the wall. He was drilling holes into
(07:53):
the door by the light of a lamp. He was
a real burglar. The humor of the situation struck mister
Hilton so keenly that he nearly laughed. For some time,
he watched the operation, expecting each moment to be discovered. Then,
(08:16):
as the man continued. Absorbed in his work. Mister Hilton
sank noiselessly into an easy chair behind him to prepare
for contingencies. His hand had stolen to his coat pocket
and now held a small revolver. For half an hour longer,
(08:38):
he continued to admire the business like methods of the burglar.
The door of the safe had now been pierced through
all round the lock. The man turned to reach another tool.
In so doing, his eye caught sight of a patent
leather boot, and they trailed a leg where before there
(09:02):
had been empty space. The phenomenon fascinated him. He slowly
turned his head, following the clue upward until his eyes
were level with the barrel of mister Hilton's revolver. His
jaw fell and he's stiffened. Please keep as you are
(09:26):
for a minute, said a low voice from behind the weapon.
I wish you to understand the situation. There is no
immediate cause for anxiety. I am a friend in disguise.
You may go on with your most interesting work. I
(09:48):
shall give no alarm. Do you understand who the blazers are?
You asked the burglar, Your curiosity natural. I am in
your own noble profession a top sawyer or a swell mobsman.
(10:08):
I forget which, but I have the certificate at home. Noney,
you gammon, said the burglar. Can't you put that thing
down and say what your game is? William, Mister Hilton replied,
I wish you clearly to understand that you have nothing
(10:30):
at all to do with my game. You go on
drilling those nice little holes. When you've got that door open,
we'll discuss matters further. Please proceed. Do you take me
for a mug, asked the burglar defiantly, I shall if
(10:51):
you don't go on with your work. This instrument goes
off on the slightest provocation, and the wound it makes
is very painful. The burglar turned and resumed his work,
but he did not seem to have much hearten it,
nor to derive much encouragement from mister Hilton's occasional promptings.
(11:17):
Every now and then, he looked round suspiciously. Another half
hour past before he had prized the bolt's back, and
the door was open. For the moment. The two men
forgot everything but their curiosity, and both looked anxiously inside.
(11:40):
Every shelf and pigeonhole was rummaged, but there was nothing
but letters and documents. There were two drawers below. The
locks of these had to be picked. In the last one,
the burglar pounced on a bag of money and some
notes got him. He cried triumphantly. What two hundred and
(12:06):
fifty quid? He gets it on the fast of every
month to pay his washing bill? How did you know that?
From a pal at the bank? I've ad this in
my eye for a year or more, but I've mostly
been a doing time since I He stopped short, suddenly,
(12:27):
evidently regretting his outburst of confidence. Now puts that money back,
said mister Hilton. What for? Because I tell you ah
are all a trouble. I've had no bloom and fear.
Put it back. You shan't lose by it. What do
(12:51):
you mean? I'm looking for something myself. It isn't in
the safe, but it may be in some other drawer
in the room. If I find it, I'll give you
two hundred and fifty pounds myself, Namer Morgan? Or am
I speaking to Lord Rothschild? Said the burglar sarcastically. Ye
(13:16):
don't happen to have the chink on you. I haven't,
But see you can have this watch and chain and
my sovereign purse and these links. And I think, yes,
here's a tenor. You can have this lot till I
give you the money. The burglar was impressed, cap'n. He said,
(13:42):
you've got a free and easy why in handling valuables?
What suits me down to the ground. I wish we
could have met sooner. It would have saved my old
woman many a weary six months. But wils need to
leave the chin. Suppose we takes the bag and leaves
(14:03):
the notes. You've got to leave the lot, William, said
mister Hilton decisively. The burglar turned thoughtfully away from the safe.
What is it you're looking for? He asked? Has the
governor cut you off with a bob? And are you
(14:24):
a going to old? Are the old bloke's will I'm
looking for a seal stuffed, asked William, with a sportsman's interest. No,
a seal for stamping wax. It's a big one, made
of silver and about six inches across. Let's try these
(14:47):
drawers in the desk. There were six of them. Four
were open, the other two locked. It took some time
to open these. They were full of legal matter. Then
they turned their attention to a set below some bookshelves.
While the burglar was busy with the locks, Hilton turned
(15:10):
over the papers on the desk. The first was headed
House of Lord's Gibbons versus Gibbons Judgment of Lord Ravey.
Another read Gibbons versus Gibbons Judgment of Lord mctauton. Beside
them was the half written judgment of the Lord Chancellor himself.
(15:36):
Mister Richard Hilton looked at these legal feats without interest. Mechanically,
he lifted the lid of the desk. A large leather
case fitted exactly into the compartment below. He pulled it out.
It was stamped with the Royal arms here cut this please.
(16:00):
The flap was cut, and Hilton drew out a richly
embroidered and betasseled silk purse. He looked eagerly inside. Hurrah,
he cried in his excitement, for it was the Great
Seal of the United Kingdom. The burglar examined it critically
(16:23):
and then felt its weight five quid, he said, putting
it down contemptuously, Hilton dropped it carefully into his pocket.
At this moment, the electric light was suddenly switched on,
and the whole place was brilliantly illuminated. They both turned
(16:46):
sharply towards the door. There, in his dressing gown stood
an old gentleman. Hilton had often seen those classic features
in photographs or the illos trated papers. He recognized them
at once. It was the Lord Chancellor. What are you
(17:09):
doing here? Came the stern judicial voice. We are we
are making the home circuit, my lord, said Hilton deferentially.
May I ask your Lordship to be good enough to
lower your voice. You perceive that I am armed? You
(17:31):
would dare to fire on me, sir, said the Lord Chancellor.
I hope it will not be necessary, for in that
case your Lordship would not hunt next season with the
bist of aile. Will you please take that seat? His
lordship sank into the chair. You are a bold man,
(17:56):
he said, after a pause, a old bad man. I fear,
my lord, and so is my partner, mister William Sikes. Sair,
aren't you William? William did not reply. He was gazing
intently at the Lord Chancellor. Ain't your name Ardie? He asked?
(18:21):
Enery Ardie that used to be, replied his Lordship. I
thought so, said mister Sikes. Then I says to your face,
you're a bloomin footland Rott. Gently, brother gently pray, said Hilton.
(18:43):
A bloomin footland Rot, repeated mister Sikes, with the earnestness
of conviction. And I've waited five and twenty year to
tell you so, Ah, said the Lord Chancellor with some interest.
How is that I once paid you to defend me
(19:05):
at the Dorchester Sizars respecting a mayor. What had followed
me in the rampshire a sickener ash you made of it?
You got too quid for the job, and I got
two year. I believe you was boozed. Pray forgive William,
(19:25):
my Lord, said Hilton. He forgets himself strangely when he's excited.
We have a lot of trouble with him at home.
William glad at him. I ain't forgot that bloke's ugly margeniow.
I swore I'd be quits with him one day, and
(19:46):
only moses it's my go now. Saying this, he clutched
his jemmy and advanced threateningly towards his lordship. Stay you fool,
Hilton cried, If you dare to touch him, I'll shoot you.
Get back, William hesitated. If you don't get back before
(20:13):
I count three, I'll lame you for life. One two.
William retired sullenly. My Lord, said Hilton. I must straw
this painful interview to a close. Your presence excites William,
(20:36):
and he's always dangerous when excited. We will retire before
I go. I wish to give you my word of
honor that anything we may take away with us tonight
will be again in your possession within forty eight hours.
(20:56):
Your word of honors, Sir repeated his look lordship with
withering contempt. You are ungenerous, my lord. You force me
to remind you that but for my interference, William would
undoubtedly have had his revenge upon you tonight, and the
(21:17):
woolsack have lost its brightest ornament. In return, I ask
your lordship to give me your own assurance that you
will not raise any alarm for the next half hour.
If you do not, we shall have to bind and
gag you. Don't you be such a foolish to trust him,
(21:41):
said William. I'll do the gaggin, he added with enthusiasm.
Shut up, William, said mister Hilton. If his Lordship gives
his word, you may be sure he will keep it
even with thieves. The age of chivalry is not yet passed.
(22:03):
Although you are still alive, my lord, do you agree?
I am in your hands, I promise. Hilton bowed. He
pointed to the door to his companion. My tools, said William,
going round the desk to collect them. A minute later
(22:27):
the two had left the room. In five minutes they
had scaled the outside wall, and within the half hour
werein Richard Hilton's rooms. Mister William Sykes looked round him admiringly.
I understand your feelings, William, said, mister Hilton. But my
(22:50):
windows and doors are every night connected with a burglar alarm,
and my man, who was once a noted bruiser, is
close at hand. I don't really think it would be
safe for you to call again. Now you want your money,
(23:12):
I will write a checkout payable to bearer and give
it you. If you make yourself nice and tidy. They
will cash it for you in the morning over the
counter at my bank. I don't like cash and checks
at banks, said William. He never was any good at it.
(23:34):
He added, pencify, ain't you got any rhino in this
ere shanty? Let me see you have a tenor of
mine in your pocket. Perhaps I can give you some more.
Hilton opened a bureau and produced a cash box. You
(23:54):
see where I keep it, William, he remarked pleasantly. I
shall have to find another place for it in future.
You are so very impulsive. Ah. Here we are three
fivers and two for six in gold. That makes twenty one.
(24:17):
And where's the sovereign purse I gave you? Thank you.
Here are four more that makes twenty five, and you
have ten that is thirty five. Now I'll make a
check out for the balance. What is it? Yes, two
(24:37):
hundred and fifteen pounds. Here it is. Perhaps your friend
at the Lord Chancellor's Bank will present it for you
before three o'clock this afternoon, when I shall suddenly find
that I have lost the check and shall stop payments.
What do you do that for, asked William suspiciously. I
(25:02):
must do it for my own protection, William, as I'm
afraid it wouldn't be wise for me to have any
direct transactions with you. But until three o'clock the game
is in your hands. Now it's time for you to
have your beauty sleep. I am much obliged for your assistance.
(25:27):
Good night. Oh by the way, let me have my
watch please, and the links, William, I'm afraid you were
forgetting them blow me, but I was, said William frankly,
as he dived into his capacious pockets. My memory ain't
(25:49):
what it used to be, and I knows it what
with work and worry and worry and work, it don't
have a fair chance, our cap'n. And William placed the
jewelry in mister Hilton's hands with obvious regrets. Then his
host showed him off the premises. It was now four o'clock.
(26:15):
Hilton pulled out the Great Seal and locked it up
in a secret drawer in his bureau. Then he retired
to rest in the happy consciousness of a night well spent.
He rose late that morning, and it was one o'clock
before he left his rooms in Piccadilly. On the news
(26:37):
posters the Great Seal of England stolen at once caught
his eye. He bought a paper and turned to the
column with curious interest. A daring robbery was perpetrated in
the early hours of this morning at Shipley House, Kensington, Gore,
(26:59):
the residence of the Lord Chancellor. His lordship, being unable
to sleep came downstairs about two o'clock intending to complete
an important judgment. In the library, he found two burglars
who succeeded in decamping before his lordship could obtain assistance.
(27:22):
The Great Seal of England and two hundred and fifty
pounds in gold and notes are missing. This is probably
the most audacious burglary of modern times, for the Lord
Chancellor is the head of the judicial system of the country,
and after Royalty, is only second in importance to the
(27:46):
Archbishop of Canterbury. England is today without a Great Seal
of State, a position unparalleled since it was stolen from
Lord Thurlow's residence in seventy eighty four. Only once before
had it been missing, when James the Second threw it
(28:07):
into the Thames at Lambeth. Great inconvenience has already been
caused by its absence, as the Treaty between England and
Korea was to have been signed tomorrow and the Great
Seal affixed there too. We understand that the Privy Council
(28:28):
will meet in the morning at Buckingham Palace in order
to deal with this situation thus created. We are informed
that the police have an important clue which will lead
to the apprehension of at least one of the criminals.
We do not know whether any special penalty is attached
(28:50):
to the theft of the Great Seal, but a century
ago the perpetrator of the crime would undoubtedly have been hanged.
Richard Hilton stared at this in blank amazement. The pains
and penalties did not disturb him, but two hundred and
(29:11):
fifty pounds in gold and notes missing held him spellbound.
Suddenly light dawned upon him and he burst out with
done and by William. That was when he collected his tools,
and I wasn't watching the scoundrel Hi hand some Coxe's
(29:36):
bank sharp. Ten minutes later he was at the bank counter.
I have lost a check for two hundred and fifteen
pounds payable to bearer, made out to self and endorsed.
Please stop payment, he said, very sorry, mister Hilton, replied
(29:59):
the teller. It was presented first thing this morning, and
I cashed at in gold that evening. The meeting of
the Burglars Club was held at the house of Lord Altamont,
an ex colonel of the Welsh Guards. There was a
record attendance. The robbery of the Great Seal had excited
(30:24):
general interest, but to members of the club the accompanying
details were of the gravest importance. After the usual opening
formalities had been gone through Lord Ripston Rose, Mister President,
I crave leave for mister Richard Hilton, a cadet member
(30:48):
of this club, to speak. A cent was given by
the general silence, which was maintained when Hilton entered mis
to President, my lords and gentlemen, he began, I regret
exceedingly that I have to make my first appearance in
(31:10):
your midst with an apology. I take it that you
have all seen the paragraph in the papers stating that
the Great Seal is missing from the Lord Chancellor's house,
and in addition to that two hundred and fifty pounds
in notes and gold. No explanation is needed as to
(31:34):
the absence of the Great Seal, for that resulted from
the mandate of your club. The other item calls for
a clear and explicit statement of the facts of the case.
Here Hilton gave an account of the robbery from his
first meeting the burglar to his parting from him, concluding,
(32:00):
so now, gentlemen, I suggest that I deserve your sympathy
rather than your blame, for not only has mister Sykes
relieved me of two hundred and fifty pounds, but I
have promised the Lord Chancellor to return anything we took
away with us. I shall therefore have to send him
(32:24):
a further like sum. I do not grudge the loss
of five hundred pounds, since I have been enabled to
qualify as a member of your club. But I do
most sincerely regret that my bungling has led to even
a temporary suspicion, that the taint of professionalism has been
(32:47):
brought into your midst My lords and gentlemen, I am
in your hands. Here, at any rate is the great
sea of the United Kingdom. The last words were lost
in tumultuous applause. Each member rose to his feet and
(33:10):
acclaimed the speaker, and then they crowded round him and
shook hands. Gentlemen, said the President, when order had been restored,
I move that mister Richard Hilton be now formally enrolled
as a member of the club, and in your name,
(33:33):
I welcome him as one who has already added luster
to our annals. The circumstances of his entry are so
unusual that, as a mark of our appreciation, I beg
to move, that the provincial line due from him, in
(33:53):
the usual course of things, in two years time be
hereby excume, and that as an exception to our rule,
mister Hilton be elected for a term of four years.
The proposition was carried by acclamation Your grace and gentlemen,
(34:18):
I thank you, said the beaming Richard Hilton. The Privy
Council met at ten on the following morning and ordered
a new seal to be engraved. But at noon a
postal packet was delivered at Shipley House, which, on being opened,
(34:39):
disclosed an old biscuit tin, then tissue paper, then cotton wool,
and finally the Great Seal of the United Kingdom. The
Treaty between England and Korea was signed with the usual
formalities at three in the afternoon. Later in the day,
(35:01):
the Lord Chancellor received from five different quarters registered parcels,
each weighing about a pound of a des poise. Each
packet contained fifty sovereigns. Thus, within forty eight hours his
Lordship had received all the stolen property. In consideration thereof,
(35:26):
he canceled his instructions to Scotland Yard to follow up
a clue which mister William Sykes had incautiously given about
a Dorset horse robbery in the late seventies. His Lordship
also advertised his acknowledgments in the Agony column of the Times,
(35:47):
and asked for the favor of an explanation of the
whole incident. This was not forthcoming, and the matter remained
for some time the one on so riddle of his
Lordship's life. Mister William Sykes, with the five hundred pounds
(36:07):
so ingeniously obtained, retired from the burglary profession and bought
a little public house known as the Goat and Compassers.
For some reason or other, he altered the name to
seal Encompasses, thereby causing much mystification to future antiquarians in
(36:30):
that particular district. In recalling his conduct on the night
in question, mister Sykes spends some of the happiest hours
of his life. To mister Richard Hilton, the events of
that night were also eminently satisfactory. He was the only loser,
(36:52):
but he had gained more than he had lost, for
the laurels of the Burglars Club were his end of
Chapter seven
Chapter seven of The Burglars Club, a romance in twelve chronicles.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. The Burglars Club by Henry Augustus
(00:25):
Herring The Great Seal. The Honorable Richard Hilton stared at
the typewritten letter with distinct feelings of pleasure. This is
what he read, Sir, I have the honor to inform
you of your election as a member of the Club,
(00:46):
conditional upon your attendance on the fifth Proxemo, with the
Great Seal of the United Kingdom, procured in the usual way,
yours faithfully, the Honorable Secretary. That's good, he ejaculated. Ribston's
(01:06):
a trump. But what on earth's the Great Seal of
the United Kingdom? And where is it to be found?
Mister Hilton's library was chiefly devoted to sport and fiction,
and he could find no reference to it therein. He
(01:26):
had therefore to make inquiries outside. When he learnt that
the Great Seal of the United Kingdom was the property
of the Lord Chancellor for the time being, that it
was a very important object, indeed, its impression be and
requisite at the foot of the highest documents of state,
(01:48):
and consequently that its unexpected absence might very well upset
the nation's affairs and incidentally bring serious trouble upon any
one one who had tampered with it. Mister Hilton's sporting
instincts were roused. It seems to me, he thought, that
(02:11):
this is going to be the best thing I have
had on since I walked across Tibet disguised as a
second class Mahatma. But where does the Chancellor keep the thing?
He skimmed through many biographies of Lord Chancellor's with very
little result. One of them, it appeared, kept the Great
(02:36):
Seal with his silver. Another always carried it about with
him in a special pocket and slept with it under
his pillow, while a third stored it at the Bank
of England. History was discreetly silent as to how the
other one hundred and one keepers of the Great Seal
(02:58):
guarded their property. Mister Richard Hilton contemplated his notes with disgust.
I never could rely on books, he said, There's nothing
for it but to find out for myself. The present
man probably keeps it where any other common sense fellow
(03:21):
would He'll have a library, so it may be there.
He's a good liver, so it may be in a
secret bin in his wine cellar. He's a sportsman, so
it may be in a gun case under his bed.
I shall have to look round and find out where
(03:44):
does he live. His lordship's town residents was Shipley House, Kensington, Gore.
Hilton took a walk in that direction. The house looked
as unpromising and unsimple pathetic a subject for robbery as
a metropolitan magistrate could have wished. The spiked railings in
(04:08):
front of the high wall at the back would have
suggested to most people the impossibility of the enterprise, but
mister Hilton simply noted these items with interest, and then
adjourned to a light lunch at his club to think
the matter out. It was one o'clock in the morning
(04:31):
when mister Hilton scaled the wall at the rear of
the Lord Chancellor's house. Though it was nine feet high,
it presented no difficulties to a next lieutenant in the navy,
but he got over carefully, for he was in evening dress,
believing that to be the safest disguise for a general burglar.
(04:55):
He dropped lightly on the turf, and then made his
way across the house and commenced a careful inspection of
the basement windows. To his intense surprise, he found the
lower sash of one of them to be open. This
astonishing piece of good luck meant the saving of at
(05:18):
least an hour. With a cheerful heart, he entered the house,
finding his way by the electric flashlight which he carried.
His passage to the Great Hall upstairs was easy. Here
he halted to take his bearings. He was at the
(05:38):
foot of the marble stairs for which Shipley House was famous.
Once they had stood in front of Nero's Villa at Antium.
But oblivious of his historic surroundings, mister Richard Hilton stood
wondering which of the four doors on his left led
(06:00):
to the library. One after another, he cautiously opened them,
only to find living or reception rooms. He crossed the
hall and got into the billiard room, where on earth
was the Lord Chancellor's den. Ah those heavy curtains under
(06:21):
the staircase, he passed through them. There was a short
passage with a door at the end. Hush, what was that?
He listened intently. It was nothing, merely nervous fancy. He
turned the handle of the door and entered. He was
(06:45):
in the Lord Chancellor's library, But heavens he was not
there alone. For a moment, he drew back in dismay,
but the singularity of the other man's occupation arrested him.
He was kneeling on the floor before the wall at
(07:05):
the far end of the room. He had a lamp
or candle by his side. What on earth was he doing?
Had he surprised the Lord High Chancellor, the keeper of
the King of England's conscience, worshiping by stealth at some
pagan shrine? What were the rites he was performing? Curiosity
(07:31):
impelled mister Hilton forward. As he drew nearer, the situation
unfolded itself. He had done the Lord Chancellor an injustice.
It was not he. A man was kneeling before a
safe built into the wall. He was drilling holes into
(07:53):
the door by the light of a lamp. He was
a real burglar. The humor of the situation struck mister
Hilton so keenly that he nearly laughed. For some time,
he watched the operation, expecting each moment to be discovered. Then,
(08:16):
as the man continued. Absorbed in his work. Mister Hilton
sank noiselessly into an easy chair behind him to prepare
for contingencies. His hand had stolen to his coat pocket
and now held a small revolver. For half an hour longer,
(08:38):
he continued to admire the business like methods of the burglar.
The door of the safe had now been pierced through
all round the lock. The man turned to reach another tool.
In so doing, his eye caught sight of a patent
leather boot, and they trailed a leg where before there
(09:02):
had been empty space. The phenomenon fascinated him. He slowly
turned his head, following the clue upward until his eyes
were level with the barrel of mister Hilton's revolver. His
jaw fell and he's stiffened. Please keep as you are
(09:26):
for a minute, said a low voice from behind the weapon.
I wish you to understand the situation. There is no
immediate cause for anxiety. I am a friend in disguise.
You may go on with your most interesting work. I
(09:48):
shall give no alarm. Do you understand who the blazers are?
You asked the burglar, Your curiosity natural. I am in
your own noble profession a top sawyer or a swell mobsman.
(10:08):
I forget which, but I have the certificate at home. Noney,
you gammon, said the burglar. Can't you put that thing
down and say what your game is? William, Mister Hilton replied,
I wish you clearly to understand that you have nothing
(10:30):
at all to do with my game. You go on
drilling those nice little holes. When you've got that door open,
we'll discuss matters further. Please proceed. Do you take me
for a mug, asked the burglar defiantly, I shall if
(10:51):
you don't go on with your work. This instrument goes
off on the slightest provocation, and the wound it makes
is very painful. The burglar turned and resumed his work,
but he did not seem to have much hearten it,
nor to derive much encouragement from mister Hilton's occasional promptings.
(11:17):
Every now and then, he looked round suspiciously. Another half
hour past before he had prized the bolt's back, and
the door was open. For the moment. The two men
forgot everything but their curiosity, and both looked anxiously inside.
(11:40):
Every shelf and pigeonhole was rummaged, but there was nothing
but letters and documents. There were two drawers below. The
locks of these had to be picked. In the last one,
the burglar pounced on a bag of money and some
notes got him. He cried triumphantly. What two hundred and
(12:06):
fifty quid? He gets it on the fast of every
month to pay his washing bill? How did you know that?
From a pal at the bank? I've ad this in
my eye for a year or more, but I've mostly
been a doing time since I He stopped short, suddenly,
(12:27):
evidently regretting his outburst of confidence. Now puts that money back,
said mister Hilton. What for? Because I tell you ah
are all a trouble. I've had no bloom and fear.
Put it back. You shan't lose by it. What do
(12:51):
you mean? I'm looking for something myself. It isn't in
the safe, but it may be in some other drawer
in the room. If I find it, I'll give you
two hundred and fifty pounds myself, Namer Morgan? Or am
I speaking to Lord Rothschild? Said the burglar sarcastically. Ye
(13:16):
don't happen to have the chink on you. I haven't,
But see you can have this watch and chain and
my sovereign purse and these links. And I think, yes,
here's a tenor. You can have this lot till I
give you the money. The burglar was impressed, cap'n. He said,
(13:42):
you've got a free and easy why in handling valuables?
What suits me down to the ground. I wish we
could have met sooner. It would have saved my old
woman many a weary six months. But wils need to
leave the chin. Suppose we takes the bag and leaves
(14:03):
the notes. You've got to leave the lot, William, said
mister Hilton decisively. The burglar turned thoughtfully away from the safe.
What is it you're looking for? He asked? Has the
governor cut you off with a bob? And are you
(14:24):
a going to old? Are the old bloke's will I'm
looking for a seal stuffed, asked William, with a sportsman's interest. No,
a seal for stamping wax. It's a big one, made
of silver and about six inches across. Let's try these
(14:47):
drawers in the desk. There were six of them. Four
were open, the other two locked. It took some time
to open these. They were full of legal matter. Then
they turned their attention to a set below some bookshelves.
While the burglar was busy with the locks, Hilton turned
(15:10):
over the papers on the desk. The first was headed
House of Lord's Gibbons versus Gibbons Judgment of Lord Ravey.
Another read Gibbons versus Gibbons Judgment of Lord mctauton. Beside
them was the half written judgment of the Lord Chancellor himself.
(15:36):
Mister Richard Hilton looked at these legal feats without interest. Mechanically,
he lifted the lid of the desk. A large leather
case fitted exactly into the compartment below. He pulled it out.
It was stamped with the Royal arms here cut this please.
(16:00):
The flap was cut, and Hilton drew out a richly
embroidered and betasseled silk purse. He looked eagerly inside. Hurrah,
he cried in his excitement, for it was the Great
Seal of the United Kingdom. The burglar examined it critically
(16:23):
and then felt its weight five quid, he said, putting
it down contemptuously, Hilton dropped it carefully into his pocket.
At this moment, the electric light was suddenly switched on,
and the whole place was brilliantly illuminated. They both turned
(16:46):
sharply towards the door. There, in his dressing gown stood
an old gentleman. Hilton had often seen those classic features
in photographs or the illos trated papers. He recognized them
at once. It was the Lord Chancellor. What are you
(17:09):
doing here? Came the stern judicial voice. We are we
are making the home circuit, my lord, said Hilton deferentially.
May I ask your Lordship to be good enough to
lower your voice. You perceive that I am armed? You
(17:31):
would dare to fire on me, sir, said the Lord Chancellor.
I hope it will not be necessary, for in that
case your Lordship would not hunt next season with the
bist of aile. Will you please take that seat? His
lordship sank into the chair. You are a bold man,
(17:56):
he said, after a pause, a old bad man. I fear,
my lord, and so is my partner, mister William Sikes. Sair,
aren't you William? William did not reply. He was gazing
intently at the Lord Chancellor. Ain't your name Ardie? He asked?
(18:21):
Enery Ardie that used to be, replied his Lordship. I
thought so, said mister Sikes. Then I says to your face,
you're a bloomin footland Rott. Gently, brother gently pray, said Hilton.
(18:43):
A bloomin footland Rot, repeated mister Sikes, with the earnestness
of conviction. And I've waited five and twenty year to
tell you so, Ah, said the Lord Chancellor with some interest.
How is that I once paid you to defend me
(19:05):
at the Dorchester Sizars respecting a mayor. What had followed
me in the rampshire a sickener ash you made of it?
You got too quid for the job, and I got
two year. I believe you was boozed. Pray forgive William,
(19:25):
my Lord, said Hilton. He forgets himself strangely when he's excited.
We have a lot of trouble with him at home.
William glad at him. I ain't forgot that bloke's ugly margeniow.
I swore I'd be quits with him one day, and
(19:46):
only moses it's my go now. Saying this, he clutched
his jemmy and advanced threateningly towards his lordship. Stay you fool,
Hilton cried, If you dare to touch him, I'll shoot you.
Get back, William hesitated. If you don't get back before
(20:13):
I count three, I'll lame you for life. One two.
William retired sullenly. My Lord, said Hilton. I must straw
this painful interview to a close. Your presence excites William,
(20:36):
and he's always dangerous when excited. We will retire before
I go. I wish to give you my word of
honor that anything we may take away with us tonight
will be again in your possession within forty eight hours.
(20:56):
Your word of honors, Sir repeated his look lordship with
withering contempt. You are ungenerous, my lord. You force me
to remind you that but for my interference, William would
undoubtedly have had his revenge upon you tonight, and the
(21:17):
woolsack have lost its brightest ornament. In return, I ask
your lordship to give me your own assurance that you
will not raise any alarm for the next half hour.
If you do not, we shall have to bind and
gag you. Don't you be such a foolish to trust him,
(21:41):
said William. I'll do the gaggin, he added with enthusiasm.
Shut up, William, said mister Hilton. If his Lordship gives
his word, you may be sure he will keep it
even with thieves. The age of chivalry is not yet passed.
(22:03):
Although you are still alive, my lord, do you agree?
I am in your hands, I promise. Hilton bowed. He
pointed to the door to his companion. My tools, said William,
going round the desk to collect them. A minute later
(22:27):
the two had left the room. In five minutes they
had scaled the outside wall, and within the half hour
werein Richard Hilton's rooms. Mister William Sykes looked round him admiringly.
I understand your feelings, William, said, mister Hilton. But my
(22:50):
windows and doors are every night connected with a burglar alarm,
and my man, who was once a noted bruiser, is
close at hand. I don't really think it would be
safe for you to call again. Now you want your money,
(23:12):
I will write a checkout payable to bearer and give
it you. If you make yourself nice and tidy. They
will cash it for you in the morning over the
counter at my bank. I don't like cash and checks
at banks, said William. He never was any good at it.
(23:34):
He added, pencify, ain't you got any rhino in this
ere shanty? Let me see you have a tenor of
mine in your pocket. Perhaps I can give you some more.
Hilton opened a bureau and produced a cash box. You
(23:54):
see where I keep it, William, he remarked pleasantly. I
shall have to find another place for it in future.
You are so very impulsive. Ah. Here we are three
fivers and two for six in gold. That makes twenty one.
(24:17):
And where's the sovereign purse I gave you? Thank you.
Here are four more that makes twenty five, and you
have ten that is thirty five. Now I'll make a
check out for the balance. What is it? Yes, two
(24:37):
hundred and fifteen pounds. Here it is. Perhaps your friend
at the Lord Chancellor's Bank will present it for you
before three o'clock this afternoon, when I shall suddenly find
that I have lost the check and shall stop payments.
What do you do that for, asked William suspiciously. I
(25:02):
must do it for my own protection, William, as I'm
afraid it wouldn't be wise for me to have any
direct transactions with you. But until three o'clock the game
is in your hands. Now it's time for you to
have your beauty sleep. I am much obliged for your assistance.
(25:27):
Good night. Oh by the way, let me have my
watch please, and the links, William, I'm afraid you were
forgetting them blow me, but I was, said William frankly,
as he dived into his capacious pockets. My memory ain't
(25:49):
what it used to be, and I knows it what
with work and worry and worry and work, it don't
have a fair chance, our cap'n. And William placed the
jewelry in mister Hilton's hands with obvious regrets. Then his
host showed him off the premises. It was now four o'clock.
(26:15):
Hilton pulled out the Great Seal and locked it up
in a secret drawer in his bureau. Then he retired
to rest in the happy consciousness of a night well spent.
He rose late that morning, and it was one o'clock
before he left his rooms in Piccadilly. On the news
(26:37):
posters the Great Seal of England stolen at once caught
his eye. He bought a paper and turned to the
column with curious interest. A daring robbery was perpetrated in
the early hours of this morning at Shipley House, Kensington, Gore,
(26:59):
the residence of the Lord Chancellor. His lordship, being unable
to sleep came downstairs about two o'clock intending to complete
an important judgment. In the library, he found two burglars
who succeeded in decamping before his lordship could obtain assistance.
(27:22):
The Great Seal of England and two hundred and fifty
pounds in gold and notes are missing. This is probably
the most audacious burglary of modern times, for the Lord
Chancellor is the head of the judicial system of the country,
and after Royalty, is only second in importance to the
(27:46):
Archbishop of Canterbury. England is today without a Great Seal
of State, a position unparalleled since it was stolen from
Lord Thurlow's residence in seventy eighty four. Only once before
had it been missing, when James the Second threw it
(28:07):
into the Thames at Lambeth. Great inconvenience has already been
caused by its absence, as the Treaty between England and
Korea was to have been signed tomorrow and the Great
Seal affixed there too. We understand that the Privy Council
(28:28):
will meet in the morning at Buckingham Palace in order
to deal with this situation thus created. We are informed
that the police have an important clue which will lead
to the apprehension of at least one of the criminals.
We do not know whether any special penalty is attached
(28:50):
to the theft of the Great Seal, but a century
ago the perpetrator of the crime would undoubtedly have been hanged.
Richard Hilton stared at this in blank amazement. The pains
and penalties did not disturb him, but two hundred and
(29:11):
fifty pounds in gold and notes missing held him spellbound.
Suddenly light dawned upon him and he burst out with
done and by William. That was when he collected his tools,
and I wasn't watching the scoundrel Hi hand some Coxe's
(29:36):
bank sharp. Ten minutes later he was at the bank counter.
I have lost a check for two hundred and fifteen
pounds payable to bearer, made out to self and endorsed.
Please stop payment, he said, very sorry, mister Hilton, replied
(29:59):
the teller. It was presented first thing this morning, and
I cashed at in gold that evening. The meeting of
the Burglars Club was held at the house of Lord Altamont,
an ex colonel of the Welsh Guards. There was a
record attendance. The robbery of the Great Seal had excited
(30:24):
general interest, but to members of the club the accompanying
details were of the gravest importance. After the usual opening
formalities had been gone through Lord Ripston Rose, Mister President,
I crave leave for mister Richard Hilton, a cadet member
(30:48):
of this club, to speak. A cent was given by
the general silence, which was maintained when Hilton entered mis
to President, my lords and gentlemen, he began, I regret
exceedingly that I have to make my first appearance in
(31:10):
your midst with an apology. I take it that you
have all seen the paragraph in the papers stating that
the Great Seal is missing from the Lord Chancellor's house,
and in addition to that two hundred and fifty pounds
in notes and gold. No explanation is needed as to
(31:34):
the absence of the Great Seal, for that resulted from
the mandate of your club. The other item calls for
a clear and explicit statement of the facts of the case.
Here Hilton gave an account of the robbery from his
first meeting the burglar to his parting from him, concluding,
(32:00):
so now, gentlemen, I suggest that I deserve your sympathy
rather than your blame, for not only has mister Sykes
relieved me of two hundred and fifty pounds, but I
have promised the Lord Chancellor to return anything we took
away with us. I shall therefore have to send him
(32:24):
a further like sum. I do not grudge the loss
of five hundred pounds, since I have been enabled to
qualify as a member of your club. But I do
most sincerely regret that my bungling has led to even
a temporary suspicion, that the taint of professionalism has been
(32:47):
brought into your midst My lords and gentlemen, I am
in your hands. Here, at any rate is the great
sea of the United Kingdom. The last words were lost
in tumultuous applause. Each member rose to his feet and
(33:10):
acclaimed the speaker, and then they crowded round him and
shook hands. Gentlemen, said the President, when order had been restored,
I move that mister Richard Hilton be now formally enrolled
as a member of the club, and in your name,
(33:33):
I welcome him as one who has already added luster
to our annals. The circumstances of his entry are so
unusual that, as a mark of our appreciation, I beg
to move, that the provincial line due from him, in
(33:53):
the usual course of things, in two years time be
hereby excume, and that as an exception to our rule,
mister Hilton be elected for a term of four years.
The proposition was carried by acclamation Your grace and gentlemen,
(34:18):
I thank you, said the beaming Richard Hilton. The Privy
Council met at ten on the following morning and ordered
a new seal to be engraved. But at noon a
postal packet was delivered at Shipley House, which, on being opened,
(34:39):
disclosed an old biscuit tin, then tissue paper, then cotton wool,
and finally the Great Seal of the United Kingdom. The
Treaty between England and Korea was signed with the usual
formalities at three in the afternoon. Later in the day,
(35:01):
the Lord Chancellor received from five different quarters registered parcels,
each weighing about a pound of a des poise. Each
packet contained fifty sovereigns. Thus, within forty eight hours his
Lordship had received all the stolen property. In consideration thereof,
(35:26):
he canceled his instructions to Scotland Yard to follow up
a clue which mister William Sykes had incautiously given about
a Dorset horse robbery in the late seventies. His Lordship
also advertised his acknowledgments in the Agony column of the Times,
(35:47):
and asked for the favor of an explanation of the
whole incident. This was not forthcoming, and the matter remained
for some time the one on so riddle of his
Lordship's life. Mister William Sykes, with the five hundred pounds
(36:07):
so ingeniously obtained, retired from the burglary profession and bought
a little public house known as the Goat and Compassers.
For some reason or other, he altered the name to
seal Encompasses, thereby causing much mystification to future antiquarians in
(36:30):
that particular district. In recalling his conduct on the night
in question, mister Sykes spends some of the happiest hours
of his life. To mister Richard Hilton, the events of
that night were also eminently satisfactory. He was the only loser,
(36:52):
but he had gained more than he had lost, for
the laurels of the Burglars Club were his end of
Chapter seven
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