Penny Dreadfuls, 1866 · page 165 of 276
Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 165: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Page This is a **text page with an illustration** from a Victorian penny dreadful serial. The woodcut engraving at top depicts uniformed officers on horseback at night, with a moon visible, apparently pursuing criminals—labeled "The Concealment of the Body." The prose below (Chapter LXXVIII continued) describes Sharkey, a character, deceiving pursuing officers by misdirecting them down the wrong road to help fugitives escape. Sharkey is then brought before a prison governor, who interrogates him. Sharkey identifies himself as "Bob Bristles" and appears to be a criminal accomplice or informant character in this melodramatic narrative about pursuit, imprisonment, and evasion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ZTVAN THE TERRIBLE & OR, DARK DEEDS OF NIGHT. j NS 7) > \ » a __, SE |! SS =— Ga” —— Www“ > te i SS Ge Nees OO ———— Ze dW ye S, SS SS) Ih ,) CHAPTER LXXVIII,—(continued.) The officers, who were mounted, started off at a gallop, when Sharkey shouted out, “You're wrong! you’re wrong! Come back! come back ! them two parties went on the other road, right straight in the other direction |" When the chief officer heard this he called back the pursuers and directed them to take quite a contrary way to that in which they were going. In a moment or two Sharkey saw that he dared not detain them any longer, but chuckled inwardly to think he had Managed to deceive them so long and so well. “‘ Nat’s five miles away, by this time,” he thought, “ and the officers can gallop as long and as hard as they like in the other direction for all Z cares, I hope they’ll break their necks, that’s all !” The chief officer, firmly convinced that Sharkey had told him{the whole truth, took him to gaol, and with a very long and plausible story told the governor of the prison his own version of the story, adding, that he had not the slightes No, 21. ; - a — —_. —_*£ _& SS —< << —— “ - _ > —— THE CONCEALMENT OF THE BODY. doubt but that Nat Fathom and;Leonora would be surely and speedily apprehended and brought back to prison. ‘Where is this fellow that told you the way they had taken?” the old governor asked, walking about his room, fuming with anger. ‘‘ Where is he?” “He is without, sir, in waiting. Should you like to ques- tion him ?” _ “TJ will, and on the instant ; bring him in.” Sharkey was led in before the governor, and bowed very humbly and lowly. ‘Who are you, sir?” he asked. “Vell, if it so pleases yer most august highness, I is called Bob Bristles” “ Bob Bristles ?” ‘Yes, most solemn and most awful.” “Silence, knave !”’ “Silence! do you hear,” said Sharkey, turning round, and thumping an officer that stood by rather roughly in the ribs. Silence, knave! Didn’t yer hear his most awful and power- ” o—-— down !”’ said the goverror,in at rage, COMIC DOO SCO an rate ( ) (oan