A horse and rider came carefully through the mist to the passenger The rider stooped and handed him a small folded paper Lorry opened the paper in the light of the coach lamp and read aloud Wait at Dover for Mam’selle Jerry say my answer was recalled to life Jerry started in his saddle That’s a blazing strange answer Take that message back and they will understand The passenger opened the coach door and got in The coach lumbered on again with wreaths of mist closing around it as it began to head downhill Jerry dismounted his spent horse and turned to walk it down the other side of the hill He muttered to himself Recalled to life Blazing strange message You’d be in a blazing bad way if recalling to life was to come into fashion Jerry 8
chapter 2 Night Shadows The mail coach lumbered jolted rattled and bumped its way toward Dover In the shadows the three passengers gave in to dozing The passenger from the bank dreamed all night that he was on his way to dig someone out of a grave A hundred times the dozing passenger asked the spirit Buried how long The answer was always the same Almost eighteen years You know you are recalled to life They tell me so After these words were spoken the passenger would dig and dig When the wretched man was out of the grave at last he would suddenly fall away to dust The weary passenger finally awoke and found the shadows of the night were gone 9
When the mail coach got successfully to Dover the head waiter at the Royal George Hotel opened the door with a flourish Mr Lorry came out of the coach shaking straw from his coat rather like a large dog Awhile later Mr Lorry sat alone in the coffee room dressed in a formal brown suit He wore an odd little flaxen wig When the waiter brought breakfast Mr Lorry said I wish rooms prepared for a young lady who may come here today She may ask for Mr Jarvis Lorry or for a gentleman from Tellson’s Bank Please to let me know Yes sir Tellson’s Bank in London sir Yes Mr Lorry confirmed The day had declined into dark when the waiter came to announce Miss Manette had arrived from London He said she would be happy to see Mr Lorry The gentleman adjusted his little wig and followed the waiter Mr Lorry saw a young lady of not more than seventeen standing by a table His eyes rested 10
on her blond hair blue eyes and slight pretty figure He made a formal bow to Miss Manette Pray take a seat sir Miss Manette had a clear pleasant voice with a little foreign accent Mr Lorry bowed again and took his seat I received a letter from the bank yesterday informing me there was some discovery about my poor father so long dead The bank told me you would explain the details to me and to prepare myself for their surprising nature I am naturally eager to know what they are It is very difficult to begin He paused Miss Manette I am a man of business I will relate to you a story of one of our customers A story Yes He was a French gentleman A scientific man of great accomplishment and a doctor like your father I speak of twenty years ago miss He married an English lady and I took care of his business affairs He silently disappeared He had an enemy in some countryman who had the power to send someone to prison for any length of time 11
