Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

1l4 ALFRED DE ROSANN. clanking of their chains still continued as a horrible chorus to the repeated shouts for blood. In five minutes the vindietive spirit, that had thus influenced the foremost rank of the shackled criminals, was disseminated throughout Ahe whole; and the cries and the shouts became every instant more appalling. De Rosann, irresolute how to act, was dragged on- wards with the rest: Bélle-Rose whispered a word of hope in his ear—and’they performed their utmost to add to the confusion. The present position of all the various parties, pas- sive or active, may be rendered comprehensible in one moment, if it be not already understood. ‘The reader must picture to himself an immense arena, bounded by high walls or buildings on all sides, and entirely encompassed within by a military force. In the centre stood the scaffold, on which the criminal had been executed. Around that scaffold, filling up _ the vacancy between it and the ranks of soldiers, were the disordered squadrons of convicts, mixed pell-mell together, all pushing towards one point, and moving on but slowly, because those nearest were afraid to show themselves too prominently in the mutiny, if it can be so called, and were urged forward by the more daring mob behind them. At a little distance from the scaffolding, a circle of Spars and ropes had been eonstructed torepress the advance of the convicts; and within those limits stood the prison authorities. Half- a-dozen sentries were placed at certain distances out- side the feeble barrier, as an additional precaution against the rude pressure of a curious multitude. When the first rush was made towards. the enclo- sure, these sentries assumed menacing attitudes, throwing their muskets in a horizontal position, and thus presenting their glittering bayonets to the bodies of the foremost of the mob. But the Governor per- ceived in a moment the simultaneousness of the move- ment on the part of the galley-slaves, and knew that those behind were even more guilty as agitators than COMMICLOOCKKS. EO