'Accessary to her undoing! how accessary?' said the doctor. 'Pray tell me, for I am impatient to hear.'
'I will tell you all as fast as I can,' cries the sick man. 'You know, good doctor, that Mrs. Harris of our town had two daughters, this Mrs. Booth and another. Now, sir, it seems the other daughter had, some way or other, disobliged her mother a little before the old lady died; therefore she made a will, and left all her fortune, except one thousand pound, to Mrs. Booth; to which will Mr. Murphy, myself, and another who is now dead, were the witnesses. Mrs. Harris afterwards died suddenly; upon which it was contrived by her other daughter and Mr. Murphy to make a new will, in which Mrs. Booth had a legacy of ten pound, and all the rest was given to the other. To this will, Murphy, myself, and the same third person, again set our hands.'
'Good Heaven! how wonderful is thy providence!' cries the doctor-- 'Murphy, say you?'
'He himself, sir,' answered Robinson; 'Murphy, who is the greatest rogue, I believe, now in the world.'
'Pray, sir, proceed,' cries the doctor.
'For this service, sir,' said Robinson, 'myself and the third person, one Carter, received two hundred pound each. What reward Murphy himself had I know not. Carter died soon afterwards; and from that time, at several payments, I have by threats extorted above a hundred pound more. And this, sir, is the whole truth, which I am ready to testify if it would please Heaven to prolong my life.'
'I hope it will,' cries the doctor; 'but something must be done for fear of accidents. I will send to counsel immediately to know how to secure your testimony.--Whom can I get to send?--Stay, ay--he will do --but I know not where his house or his chambers are. I will go myself --but I may be wanted here.'
While the doctor was in this violent agitation the surgeon made his appearance. The doctor stood still in a meditating posture, while the surgeon examined his patient. After which the doctor begged him to declare his opinion, and whether he thought the wounded man in any immediate danger of death. 'I do not know,' answered the surgeon, 'what you call immediate. He may live several days--nay, he may recover. It is impossible to give any certain opinion in these cases.' He then launched forth into a set of terms which the doctor, with all his scholarship, could not understand. To say the truth, many of them were not to be found in any dictionary or lexicon.
One discovery, however, the doctor made, and that was, that the surgeon was a very ignorant, conceited fellow, and knew nothing of his profession. He resolved, therefore, to get better advice for the sick; but this he postponed at present, and, applying himself to the surgeon, said, 'He should be very much obliged to him if he knew where to find such a counsellor, and would fetch him thither. I should not ask such a favour of you, sir,' says the doctor, 'if it was not on business of the last importance, or if I could find any other messenger.'
'I fetch, sir!' said the surgeon very angrily. 'Do you take me for a footman or a porter? I don't know who you are; but I believe you are full as proper to go on such an errand as I am.' (For as the doctor, who was just come off his journey, was very roughly dressed, the surgeon held him in no great respect.) The surgeon then called aloud from the top of the stairs, 'Let my coachman draw up,' and strutted off without any ceremony, telling his patient he would call again the next day.
At this very instant arrived Murphy with the other bail, and, finding Booth alone, he asked the bailiff at the door what was become of the doctor? 'Why, the doctor,' answered he, 'is above-stairs, praying with -----.' 'How!' cries Murphy. 'How came you not to carry him directly to Newgate, as you promised me?' 'Why, because he was wounded,' cries the bailiff. 'I thought it was charity to take care of him; and, besides, why should one make more noise about the matter than is necessary?' 'And Doctor Harrison with him?' said Murphy. 'Yes, he is,' said the bailiff; 'he desired to speak with the doctor very much, and they have been praying together almost this hour.' 'All is up and undone!' cries Murphy. 'Let me come by, I have thought of something which I must do immediately.'
Now, as by means of the surgeon's leaving the door open the doctor heard Murphy's voice naming Robinson peevishly, he drew softly to the top of the stairs, where he heard the foregoing dialogue; and as soon as Murphy had uttered his last words, and was moving downwards, the doctor immediately sallied from his post, running as fast as he could, and crying, Stop the villain! stop the thief!
