An uncomfortable silence fell.Crass thought that the principal piece of bungling in this affair was Hunter's failure to secure possession of the Coroner's certificate after the inquest, but he was afraid to say so.
Outside, the rain was still falling and drove in through the partly open door, causing the atmosphere of the mortuary to be even more than usually cold and damp.The empty coffin had been reared against one of the walls and the marble slab was still stained with blood, for the keeper had not had time to clean it since the body had been removed.
`I can see 'ow it's been worked,' said Crass at last.`There's one of the members of the club who works for Snatchum, and 'e's took it on 'isself to give the order for the funeral; but 'e's got no right to do it.'
`Right or no right, 'e's done it,' replied Misery, `so you'd better take the box back to the shop.'
Crass and Sawkins accordingly returned to the workshop, where they were presently joined by Nimrod.
`I've been thinking this business over as I came along,' he said, `and I don't see being beat like this by Snatchum; so you two can just put the tressels and the box on a hand cart and we'll take it over to Philpot's house.'
Nimrod walked on the pavement while the other two pushed the cart, and it was about half past nine, when they arrived at the street in Windley where Philpot used to live.They halted in a dark part of the street a few yards away from the house and on the opposite side.
`I think the best thing we can do,' said Misery, `is for me and Sawkins to wait 'ere while you go to the 'ouse and see 'ow the land lies.You've done all the business with 'er so far.It's no use takin' the box unless we know the corpse is there; for all we know, Snatchum may 'ave taken it 'ome with 'im.'
`Yes; I think that'll be the best way,' agreed Crass, after a moment's thought.
Nimrod and Sawkins accordingly took shelter in the doorway of an empty house, leaving the handcart at the kerb, while Crass went across the street and knocked at Philpot's door.They saw it opened by an elderly woman holding a lighted candle in her hand; then Crass went inside and the door was shut.In about a quarter of an hour he reappeared and, leaving the door partly open behind him, he came out and crossed over to where the others were waiting.As he drew near they could see that he carried a piece of paper in his hand.
`It's all right,' he said in a hoarse whisper as he came up.I've got the stifficut.'
Misery took the paper eagerly and scanned it by the light of a match that Crass struck.It was the certificate right enough, and with a sigh of relief Hunter put it into his note-book and stowed it safely away in the inner pocket of his coat, while Crass explained the result of his errand.
It appeared that the other member of the Society, accompanied by Snatchum, had called upon the old woman and had bluffed her into giving them the order for the funeral.It was they who had put her up to getting the certificate from the Coroner - they had been careful to keep away from the inquest themselves so as not to arouse Hunter's or Crass's suspicions.
`When they brought the body 'ome this afternoon,' Crass went on, `Snatchum tried to get the stifficut orf 'er, but she'd been thinkin'
things over and she was a bit frightened 'cos she knowed she'd made arrangements with me, and she thought she'd better see me first; so she told 'im she'd give it to 'im on Thursday; that's the day as 'e was goin' to 'ave the funeral.'
`He'll find he's a day too late,' said Misery, with a ghastly grin.
`We'll get the job done on Wednesday.'
`She didn't want to give it to me, at first,' Crass concluded, `but Itold 'er we'd see 'er right if old Snatchum tried to make 'er pay for the other coffin.'
`I don't think he's likely to make much fuss about it,' said Hunter.
`He won't want everybody to know he was so anxious for the job.'
Crass and Sawkins pushed the handcart over to the other side of the road and then, lifting the coffin off, they carried it into the house, Nimrod going first.
The old woman was waiting for them with the candle at the end of the passage.
`I shall be very glad when it's all over,' she said, as she led the way up the narrow stairs, closely followed by Hunter, who carried the tressels, Crass and Sawkins, bringing up the rear with the coffin.`Ishall be very glad when it's all over, for I'm sick and tired of answerin' the door to undertakers.If there's been one 'ere since Friday there's been a dozen, all after the job, not to mention all the cards what's been put under the door, besides the one's what I've had give to me by different people.I had a pair of boots bein' mended and the man took the trouble to bring 'em 'ome when they was finished -a thing 'e's never done before - just for an excuse to give me an undertaker's card.
`Then the milkman brought one, and so did the baker, and the greengrocer give me another when I went in there on Saturday to buy some vegetables for Sunday dinner.'
Arrived at the top landing the old woman opened a door and entered a small and wretchedly furnished room.
Across the lower sash of the window hung a tattered piece of lace curtain.The low ceiling was cracked and discoloured.
There was a rickety little wooden washstand, and along one side of the room a narrow bed covered with a ragged grey quilt, on which lay a bundle containing the clothes that the dead man was wearing at the time of the accident.
There was a little table in front of the window, with a small looking-glass upon it, and a cane-seated chair was placed by the bedside and the floor was covered with a faded piece of drab-coloured carpet of no perceptible pattern, worn into holes in several places.
In the middle of this dreary room, upon a pair of tressels, was the coffin containing Philpot's body.Seen by the dim and flickering light of the candle, the aspect of this coffin, covered over with a white sheet, was terrible in its silent, pathetic solitude.