Black Jack

- Get your hands off me! - Move on!

- Get off me! - Come on!

There's Black Jack. Let's get at him!

To the gallows!

Go on!

All good people! All good people!

Pray heartily to God for these poor sinners going to their deaths,

and for whom this great bell doth toll.

And you there, condemned to die,

repent yourselves with lamentable tears

and ask mercy of the Lord for the salvation of your soul

through the mercies, death and passion of Jesus Christ.

Lord, have mercy upon your soul.

Lord, have mercy upon you all.

Come on, children. Get a move on.

This one ain't half heavy.

Nice piece. Worth every penny.

There 's plenty of ways of earning a living

but not many as strange as Mrs. Gorgandy's.

Mrs. Gorgandy was a Tyburn widow.

You see, on the days there were to be hangings,

she begged the hangman

to take any unclaimed body round to her house

and that's how she made her brass.

The surgeons would pay up to seven pounds ten

for a body in good condition.

When Black Jack was hanged at Knavesmire outside York

in the spring of 1750,

sure enough, she was there. Half the city were there an'all.

Some shops were shut

and apprentices had taken the day off.

They called him Black Jack

because no one could pronounce his real name.

He was a Frenchman, you see,

a sailor off one of them ships

that bring wine up the river to York.

He'd come ashore, got himself drunk

and murdered a local man in a brawl.

He was so strong, it killed him with one blow.

Six foot six he stood, and broad to match.

When he was strung up,

his great bulk finished him off in seconds.

And that's when Mrs. Gorgandy piped up and said,

"Why not take him round to my place? I'll see you right. "

There.

- Thank you very much, lads. - That's all right, missus.

He was heavy, all right.

His shipmates are coming to see him tonight, you see.

You've done a good thing.

Thank you ever so much, lads.

He's many friends, many friends.

Thank you, lads. Thank you again.

Good of you all to help out an old widow like me.

- He was heavy all right. - You're telling me.

Look.

Can you see anything?

- Hold his arm up? - All right.

- Not a bad jacket, this. - Nice, isn't it?

I don't think there'll be owt left in his pockets?

Thanks, lads, ever so much.

- What about a glass of gin? - No, not for me.

- We haven't time, love. - Right. This is what I owed you.

There you are, love.

- Goodbye, Mrs Gorgandy. - Thanks, lads, very much.

Thanks, lads. Goodbye.

Now, then. One more favour for a poor widow.

- All right. - Good lad.

I just want you to stay with him for half an hour

- while I get his shipmates... - I can't stop for half an hour.

Look, lad, it'll only take a few minutes,

if you'll just wait.

There's a bit of pie in that cupboard.

Finish it off, love. Make yourself at home.

But I'm apprentice to a draper. I'm going to lose my job.

Never mind, love. Thanks very much.

He's keen on being punctual, Mr. Nicholson.

- Good lad. - Bye.

Bartholomew Pickering, apprentice to a draper,

found himself guardian of the corpse.

To pass the time, he inspected the remains

of Mrs. Gorgandy's veal pie.

It looked a little stale.

Black Jack had cheated the hangmen's noose.

A bent spoon in his gullet did the trick.

Saved his windpipe from being strangled

by the rope, you see.

And young Bartholomew was going to be even later

back to work than he'd feared.

That door's locked!

It's locked. You'll not get out. It's locked. She's locked it.

- You come with me. - No.

Yeah, you come with me.

You'll see, in my country,

everybody knows me.

Black Jack.

That's my name.

You'll come with me!

And you'll speak for me.

You'll speak for me.

Understand?

Understand?

I'll need you to speak for me.

- Your name? - Bartholomew Pickering.

- What? - Bartholomew Pickering.

Bartholomew? That is too long for me.

For me it's Tolly. Understand? Tolly.

Come on.

Come on, Belle.

What did you take your hat off for?

Come on. That's better.

What for?

Two gentlemen have come to see you. I've been telling you about it all week.

Come on, give me your hand.

Good girl.

- I have the child, sir. - Bring her in.

Right away, sir.

Can we speak freely in front of the child?

She won't be affected. She doesn't understand, poor child.

How long has she suffered from her disability?

Some seven years.

- She was five when it happened. - So young?

And the cause of the start of it was?

- It was a high fever. - A high fever? I see.

- She almost died, Doctor. - And then she recovered miraculously.

But she didn't recognise Mrs. Carter or myself.

She was strange.

Very silent and very unfriendly.

Then she became moody. She was sad and violent in turns.

We never knew how she would be, did we?

No.

She would throw things around the room. She was very untidy.

She would not use the necessary house.

- We put her in a little room upstairs. - Most distressing.

Mrs. Carter, because she became violent,

is that why you have asked or our help at this particular time?

- Increasingly violent. - Yet you've managed for seven years.

- Yes, well, there is another reason. - Yes, indeed.

Our daughter, Kate, an older girl,

has the honour to be betrothed to Lord Somers of the West Riding.

Lord Somers?

A very desirable match, as you can imagine.

A very desirable match for any young lady.

Indeed. We think so, too.

You realise that we wouldn't like too many people

to know about the unfortunate child there.

Quite. I appreciate that.

And though there may be no hereditary taint,

people don't always understand such things.

You may rely upon our discretion at Spring Vale.

It would be as though the child had never been born.

It would be as well if we were to leave soon.

There may be many folk abroad before long.

- I agree. As soon as possible. - We would say our farewells.

Thank you for the refreshment you provided.

Our pleasure.

Come.

Come, child.

Come along, now.

In you go.

Come on. We have to push and push hard.

- We can do it. - Are we bedding it down at the front?

I think we're bogged at the front.

- What are you going to do? - There's few people so I am going in.

Do you like blood?

Tolly, come back! Tolly!

- Hello. Want any help? - Yes.

- Very kind of you, lad. - Can you push on the other side?

Let's go.

- Are you ready at that side? - Aye.

Keep it going. Push forward.

Come on!

Keep it going!

Together!

Push!

Heave!

Could you give us a hand to push the coach?

We're bogged down and we're stuck.

I cannot speak but...

- I am strong. - Very good.

- And I can give you a hand. - He'll manage it on his own.

- What are you doing with that gun? - It's just fallen off the carriage.

Well, get it put back.

Come on, let's try again.

Ready?

- Go on, push. - Come on.

A bit more.

- Come on. - There.

Thank you very much.

We'd have been in a right mess without you.

I think we ought to have a collection for this fellow.

Aye.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, madam.

Thank you very much. Very good of you.

We might have been set on with a set of brigands and bandits.

- Anyway, must toddle on. - Thank you.

Thank you. We're very grateful.

Hurry along.

- How's your head, sir? - Not so painful but still a bit dizzy.

- It was a nasty crack, you know. - Yes. Certainly it was.