Now, however, his frantic efforts to release himself from a much more
uncomfortable situation than he had imagined it possible for him to get
into, were of so frantic a nature, that he only half buried himself in
pieces of chalk, which he kept pulling down with vehemence from the
sides of the pit, and succeeded in accomplishing nothing towards his
rescue. "Oh! the fellow is only joking," said the baron, "and amusing himself at
our expense." But the manner in which the man cried for help, and the marked terror
which was in every tone, was quite sufficient to prove that he was not
acting; for if he were, a more accomplished mimic could not have been
found on the stage than he was. "This is serious," said Sir John Westlake, "and cannot be allowed. Have
you any ropes here by which we can assist him from the pit? Don't be
alarmed, my man, for if there be a dead body in the pit, it can't harm
you. Take your time quietly and easily, and you will assuredly get out." "Aye," said the baron, "the more haste, the worst speed, is an English
proverb, and in this case it will be fully exemplified. This man would
easily leave the pit, if he would have the patience, with care and
quietness, to clamber up its sides." It would appear that Davis felt the truth of these exhortations, for
although he trembled excessively, he did begin to make some progress in
his ascent, and get so high, that Mr. Leek was enabled to get hold of
his hand, and give him a little assistance, so that, in another minute
or so, he was rescued from his situation, which was not one of peril,
although it was certainly one of fright. He trembled so excessively, and stuttered and stammered, that for some
minutes no one could understand very well what he said; but at length,
upon making himself intelligible, he exclaimed,--

"There has been a murder! there has been a murder committed, and the
body thrown into the ice pit. I felt that I jumped down upon something
soft, and when I put down my hand to feel what it was, it came across a
dead man's face, and then, of course, I called out." "You certainly did call out." "Yes, and so would anybody, I think, under such circumstances. I suppose
I shall be hung now, because I had charge of the house?" "That did not strike me until this moment," said the baron; "but if
there be a dead body in that pit, it certainly places this man in a very
awkward position." "What the deuce do you mean?" said Davis; "I don't know no more about it
than the child unborn. There is a dead man in the ice-well, and that is
all I know about it; but whether he has been there a long time, or a
short time, I don't know any more than the moon, so it's no use
bothering me about it." "My good man," said the baron, "it would be very wrong indeed to impute
to you any amount of criminality in this business, since you may be
entirely innocent; and I, for one, believe that you are so, for I cannot
think that any guilty man would venture into the place where he had put
the body of his victim, in the way that you ventured into that pit. I
say I cannot believe it possible, and therefore I think you innocent,
and will take care to see that no injustice is done you; but at the same
time I cannot help adding, that I think, of course, you will find
yourself suspected in some way." "I am very much obliged to you, sir," said Davis; "but as I happen to be
quite innocent, I am very easy about it, and don't care one straw what
people say. I have not been in this excavation for Heaven knows how
long." "But what's to be done?" said Mr. Leek. "I suppose it's our duty to do
something, under such circumstances." "Unquestionably," said the baron; "and the first thing to be done, is to
inform the police of what has happened, so that the body may be got up;
and as I have now seen enough of the estate to satisfy me as regards its
capabilities, I decide at once upon taking it, if I can agree upon the
conditions of the tenancy, and I will purchase it, if the price be such
as I think suitable." "Well," said Mr. Leek, "if anything could reconcile me to the
extraordinary circumstance that has just occurred, it certainly is,
baron, the having so desirable a tenant for Anderbury-on-the-Mount as
yourself. But we need not traverse all this passage again, for it is
much nearer now to get out upon the sea-coast at once, as we are so
close to the other opening upon the beach. It seems to me that we ought
to proceed at once to the town, and give information to the authorities
of the discovery which we have made." "It is absolutely necessary," said the baron, "so to do; so come along
at once. I shall proceed to my inn, and as, of course, I have seen
nothing more than yourselves, and consequently could only repeat your
evidence, I do not see that my presence is called for. Nevertheless, of
course, if the justices think it absolutely necessary that I should
appear, I can have no possible objection to so do." This was as straightforward as anything that could be desired, and,
moreover, it was rather artfully put together, for it seemed to imply
that he, Mr. Leek, would be slighted, if his evidence was not considered
sufficient. "Of course," said Mr. Leek; "I don't see at all why, as you, sir, have
only the same thing to say as myself, I should not be sufficient." "Don't call upon me on any account," said Sir John Westlake. "Oh! no, no," cried Mr. Leek; "there is no occasion. I won't, you may
depend, if it can be helped." Sir John, in rather a nervous and excited manner, bade them good day,
before they got quite into the town, and hurried off; while the baron,
with a dignified bow, when he reached the door of his hotel, said to Mr.
Leek,--

"Of course I do not like the trouble of judicial investigations more
than anybody else, and therefore, unless it is imperatively necessary
that I should appear, I shall take it as a favour to be released from
such a trouble." "My lord baron," said Mr. Leek, "you may depend that I shall mention
that to the magistrates and the coroner, and all those sort of people;"
and then Mr. Leek walked away, but he muttered to himself, as he did so,
"They will have him, as sure as fate, just because he is a baron; and
his name will look well in the 'County Chronicle.'" Mr. Leek then repaired immediately to the house of one of the principal
magistrates, and related what had occurred, to the great surprise of
that gentleman, who suggested immediately the propriety of making the
fact known to the coroner of the district, as it was more his business,
than a magistrate's, in the first instance, since nobody was accused of
the offence. This suggestion was immediately followed, and that functionary directed
that the body should be removed from where it was to the nearest
public-house, and immediately issued his precept for an inquiry into the
case.