Roving Jack, The Pirate Hunter — page 74: what you’re looking at

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

“Hullo!” growled Tom, as his eyes fell upon the poor girl, ‘‘what’s this ?” m ‘You shall have your share of the swag, Tom, compapion’s fine eyes, and wishing to avoid a quarrel, “If you are fool enough to wish to re- store the hussey her trumpery you shall have it; we'll meet to-night ‘at old Hind's cave and square accounts,” Tom King made no answer, He kneeled beside the poor girl, and raised her in his arms, ‘Fling that old cove’s carcase into the ditch,” said Turpin. Rose and Bush raised the old man ia their arms, and bore him away through the trees. (See Iliustra- tion of last week.) Tom King, in sullen mood, liffed Kate on to his saddle, and, mounting behind her, shook the rein. “Where away so fast, comrade?” cried Dick Turpin. “See, Rose and Bush are returning. Mount, my comrades, we’ll ride together as far as the cross-roads, and then we’ll disperse to meet again at Joe Hinds, where we can share the swag over a bowl of rum slim. To horse, my Trojans !” The gang of villains rode together to a spot where five or six roads branched off in ‘all direc- tions. , |‘ Here we part; not more than two of us must take the same direction, Do you ride with me, Tom King?” ‘No,” returned’ the other, :sullenly; “I go alone.” . With this he spurred his horse, and, without saluting his comradés, dashed away. “Tom is riled about his doxy,” laughed Nat Wetherby. ‘‘You shouldn't have handled her so roughly, captain.” “Let him go hang!” growled Turpin. ‘ Come, Nat Wetherby, you must accompany me, Ben darkmans, gentlemen all, we meet to-night at the ‘ Black Lion,’ ” CHAPTER XXXITI. DICK TURBIN AND NAT WETHERBY—THE PURSUIT, Dick TURPIN and Nat Wetherby had selected a path which, diverging from the high road, pene- trated into the thickest part of the forest. For some time they maintained silence, and rode at a rapid pace, Ever and anon they. cast anxious looks behind and around them, They listened heedfully_to every sound. Turpin, who was a daring ruffian, appeared the more collected of the pair, and more than once roughly abused his companion for his evident nervousness, , ‘““S’death, comrade, you start at the crackle of every breaking bough, the rustle of every drifting _ sere-leaf, as nervously as a joskin when he passes a gibbet on the heath by night,” laughed Turpin, _ “What ails ye?” ‘JT don’t know; I am not myself, I own, cap- tain ; I feel qualmish and cold at heart,” returned the other, hoarsely, ‘A’ twinge of conscience, ha?” other, brutally sneering, “Conscience !” returned Nat, vacantly, and’start- ing in his saddle. ‘ ‘‘Pish! ‘tis a bug-bear invented by the priests laughed the ROVING JACK, THE PIRATE HUNTER. said Dick, rather alarmed at the fierce glare of his, to awe their dupes,’’ laughed Turpin. “Con- science! ‘tis but another name for weakness and cowardice |” “And yet, captain, I think we have gone too far,” returned Nat Wetherby, remorsefully. “It is bad enough to be guilty of assault and robbery ; but we might have avoided the crime of murder.” “To what end, you squeamish fool?” growled Turpin. ‘We weigh one weight, ‘don’t we? We work capital, and if we were taken should be brought to the crup assure as fate ; why then ? They can but hang us if we massacre a hundred adver- saries. You aré almost as bad as that chicken- hearted Tom King; who isn’t |fit to fly any higher © rigs than the area sneak, or the spruce fakement, who’s more fit to be an old maid’s chaplain than a bold toby gloak. A plague upon such milk-sops !” “ Hark !” interrupted Nat, suddenly tearing his ~ horse. “ What now, you rabbit?” “T thought I heard a voice.” “Ha! ha!” laughed Turpin, bull-frog in the marsh, maybe.” * Listen |’? “Pshaw ! ’tis that raven yonder. The sly thief scents the carrion we left on the road,” “That dismal croak is a note of j' omen to one or both of us, Dick,” returned Naf .oomily. “Rather; if you can be. sca ed by such old woman’s rubbish, what will you do if you have to confront real danger ?” “Well, I own myself a fool,’ returned Nat Wetherby, drawing a deep sigh ; “ but I feel as if I had walked over my own grave, I never had such strange sensations before.”’ ‘Drown ’em, man, Here’s somethi g will give you Dutch courage, at least,” langhed Turpin. He drew out a case-bottle of brandy and handed it to his companion. Nat took a deep draught. ‘‘Ha! that’s better!” he said, with a laugh, “Richard’s himself again !” Turpin also took a pull at the strorg waters, and then replaced the case-bottle in his belt, Again they spurred on through the dense wood. ‘Come, it’s all bowman, comrade, there’s no one down. Letus enjoy ourselves; we’ll light up our pipes and chant a roaring stave,” rejoined Turpin. ‘“Warble, my frisky cock-o’-the-woods, you have the voice of a nightingale, and can put all the feathered songsters to shame. What shall it be— "* Nose, nose, and who gaye theé that jolly red nose ? Nutmeg and ginger, and cinnamon and cloves, And they gave me this jolly red nose.’ ‘Bah! you are as mute ag Tune up, my noble,” “Iam in no mood for singing” returned Nat Wetherby, in a moody tone, “ But, dam’me, here’s for a shy at the blue devils,” And he trolled forth boisterously— “Tn durance vile lay Claude Du Val His stout heart never failed ——* ‘Dick, did ye mark that ?” _This sudden exclamation was caused by a strange circumstance, An enormous bat, wheeling out from the trees, darted across the path, and in his blind, headlong flight dashed his leathern Wings against Nat’s head, knocking off his hat, and then with a tiny shriek of anger or alarm, it flittered into the cover. Nat sat still in the saddle as pale as a sheet, Dick Turpin burst into a roar of gruff laughter, ‘Why, comrade, you look as if one of the devil's black cherubs had run foul of ye. Surely, you're a pickled herring. omiecbooks -‘the croak of a - com