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The police officer extended a hand and shook Burton's.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Sir Richard," he said, indicating achair as he sat in his own.
"Please," his visitor replied, "captain will do." He pulled thechair over to the desk and sat down.
"You served in the military?" Trounce's voice was deep with aslightly guttural rasp.
"Yes, in the 18th Bombay Native Infantry."
"Ah. I didn't know. The newspapers only ever mention theexpeditions. Anyway, how can I help you, Captain? Something to dowith Lieutenant Speke's accident, I suppose?"
"Actually, no. Something to do with Spring Heeled Jack."
Trounce jumped back to his feet. In an instant, his facehardened and his eyes turned cold.
"Then you can leave this office at once, sir! Who put you up tothis? Was it that little prig, Honesty? I'll take the mockery nomore!"
Burton remained seated, crossed his legs, and pulled a couple ofcigars from his jacket pocket.
"Would you care to smoke, Inspector?" he asked.
Trounce glared at him and said, "I don't know what it has to dowith you, but let me make something very clear: I will never denywhat I saw!"
"I don't doubt it. Sit and calm down, man! Have a cigar."
Trounce remained standing.
Burton sighed. "Inspector, as you can see, I have a black eye, acut lip, a burned brow, and a number of very painful bruises. Doyou want to know how I got them?"
"How?"
"Last night, I was set upon by a creature that fits thedescription of Spring Heeled Jack."
Trounce dropped into his chair. He distractedly took theproffered cigar, cut it, held it to the candle, placed it to hislips, and inhaled the sweet smoke. His eyes never left Burton'sface.
"Tell me what happened. Describe him," he muttered, the bluesmoke puffing from his mouth.
Burton cut and lit his own cigar and recounted the events of theprevious evening.
When he'd finished, Trounce leaned forward and the candle flamereflected in his eager blue eyes. "That's him, Captain Burton!That's him! So he's back!"
"Buckingham Palace and the prime minister have asked me to lookinto the matter, and I was told that you are the expert. So, yousee, you overre acted. I'm not here to mock; rather, I thoughtperhaps we could work together."
The detective inspector got up and crossed to the filingcabinets, slid open one of the bottom drawers and, without havingto search for it, selected a well-thumbed file and took it back tothe desk.
"My apologies. Mention of that devil never fails to get my goat.I've had to put up with a great deal of derision over the years.Well now, tell me: what do you know of him?"
"Virtually nothing. Until last night, I thought he was a fairystory, and I didn't even make that co
"In that case, I shall give you a brief history."
Without consulting the report, Trounce-who obviously knew thefacts by heart-gave an account of its contents: "The first sightingwas twentyfour years ago, in 1837, when a gentleman reported seeinga grotesque figure leaping over the gate of a cemetery near theBedlam mental hospital. A few days later, it was October, afifteen-year-old servant girl named Mary Stevens, who'd justvisited her parents in Battersea, was returning to her employer'shome on Lavender Hill via Cut Throat Lane when she was grabbed bysomeone-or something-fitting the same description as your attacker.It was a sexual assault, Captain Burton-her clothes were rippedfrom her body and her flesh was squeezed and caressed in anaggressive ma
"The following day, in the same neighbourhood, the creaturesprang out of an alleyway onto the side of a passing brougham anddemanded to know the whereabouts of `Lizzie,' whoever she may be.The terrified coachman lost control of his horses and crashed thecarriage into the side of a shop, suffering serious injuries. Therewere a great many witnesses, all of whom reported that the`ghost'-as it was referred to at the time-escaped by vaulting overa nine-foot-high wall. According to one witness, the creature waslaughing insanely and babbling in a fairly incoherent ma
"And its appearance?" interrupted Burton.
"Again, apart from minor variations which can be attributed tothe usual unreliability of witnesses, the various descriptions areremarkably consistent and tally with what you saw. Can I offer youa drink? There's a decanter of red wine in the top-left filingdrawer."
Burton shook his head. "No thank you. I must confess, I ratheroverdid it last night."
"It happens to the best of us," replied Trounce, with a wrysmile. He reached across to a brass lid on the desktop, identicalto the ones Burton had seen on the wall downstairs, and lifted it.A tube snaked out from the desk. Trounce opened the lid and blewinto the tube. A moment later, a voice answered.
"Pepperwick," the detective inspector said into the mouthpiece,"would you have a pot of coffee and a couple of cups sent up? Andgive my appointments to Detective Inspector Spearing until furthernotice. I don't want to be disturbed."
He put the tube to his ear; back to his mouth; said, "Thankyou"; then replaced the lid and put it back on the desk.
"So, to continue: throughout late 1837 and early '38 there werea great many sightings of this so-called ghost or devil, whichseemed to be haunting an area within the triangle formed byCamberwell, Battersea, and Lambeth, and, incidentally, it wasduring this period that it acquired the nickname by which we stillknow it. Several young girls were attacked but all escapedphysically unharmed, though molested. However, the shock caused acouple of them to lose their minds. In addition, two witnesses toJack's 'manifesta- tions'-if I may refer to his appearances thatway-died of heart failure. I point this out because some newspapersreported the incidents as `wicked pranks.' Personally, Captain, Ica
"We now come to one of the most well-documented and widelyreported cases: that of Jane Alsop. On February 19, 1838, at aquarter to nine in the evening, the bell was rung at the gate of asecluded cottage on Bearbinder Lane in the village of Old Ford,near Hertford, north of London.
"Jane Alsop, an eighteen-year-old, was inside the cottage withher parents and two sisters. She went to the front door and openedit, walked down the path, and approached a shadowy figure standingat the gate. In her statement to the local police, she said that itappeared to be an extremely tall, angular man who was wrapped in acloak and wearing some sort of helmet.
"She asked what he wanted and he replied that he was a policemanand that he needed a light. He told her that someone had been seenloitering in the neighbourhood.
"The girl fetched a candle from the cottage and handed it to thewaiting figure. As she did so, it threw back its cloak to revealitself as Spring Heeled Jack. Grabbing her, it tore her dress downto her waist before she managed to break free and run back alongthe path. Jack followed and caught her at the threshold of thefront door. He was pulling her hair and yanking at her slip whenher younger sister entered the hallway, witnessed the scene, andlet out a loud scream of terror. At this, the older sister cameru