Chapter 19

On my way to my chamber I met the innkeeper and casually asked him after Paddy and Jem. He said that he would send to have word of them and inform me as soon as possible. Later a drawer came to my door and told me that Paddy and Jem, with three men-servants of gentlemen sleeping at the inn, had sallied out to a mug-house.

“Mug-house?” said I. “What in the devil’s name is a mug-house?”

“Mug-house, sir?” said the man, staring. “Mug-house? Why, sir, ‘tis—’tis a form of amusement, sir.”

“It is, is it?” said I. “Very good. And does any one here know to what mug-house they went?”

“The ‘Red Slipper,’ I think, sir,” said the man.

“And how do I get to it?” said I.

“Oh, sir,” he cried, “‘tis impossible!”

“Is it?” said I. “And why is it? The innkeeper said the same to me, and I would like to hear all the reasons.”

“Sir,” said the man, “when it becometh dark in London there walk abroad many men of evil minds who are no respecters of persons, but fall upon whomsoever they, may, beating them sorely, having no regard for that part of the Holy Book in which it is written—”

“Let go,” said I. “I see what you mean.” I then bade him get for me a stout lad with a cudgel and a lantern and a knowledge of the whereabouts of the “Red Slipper.”

I, with the stout lad, had not been long in the street before I understood what the landlord and the waiter had meant. In fact we were scarce out of the door before the man was menacing with his cudgel two human vultures who slunk upon us out of the shadow. I saw their pale, wicked, snarling faces in the glow of the lantern.

A little later a great shindy broke out in the darkness, and I heard voices calling loudly for a rally in the name of some guild or society. I moved closer, but I could make out little save that it was a very pretty fight in which a company of good citizens were trying to put to flight a band of roughs and law-breakers. There was a merry rattling of sticks. Soon enough, answering shouts could be heard from some of the houses, and with a great slamming of doors men rushed out to do battle for the peace of the great city. Meanwhile all the high windows had been filled with night-capped heads, and some of these people even went so far as to pour water down upon the combatants. They also sent down cat-calls and phrases of witty advice. The sticks clattered together furiously; once a man with a bloody face staggered past us; he seemed to have been whacked directly on the ear by some uneducated person. It was as fine a shindy as one could hope to witness, and I was deeply interested.