The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

-_-— 18 THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S YOUNG CAPTAIN. a ee “ All right,” said the policeman, “ Look sharp ; you’re sure to earn a crown.” in Flint ran one way and the policeman another. Soon a bright flame burst forth from the court. But there was still another cry which startled both Flint and the policeman more that that of It was the wild shout of— Murder! Which now broke forth from the court.as a head- — less body was dragged, half charred, out of Flint’s room by the brave exertions of Long om, a coster, and “ Bones,” otherwise Joe Banks, whoravelled about the town and country, sometimes as a “tumbler,” and at. others as. one of a band of “niggers,” both of whom lived nearby. = ‘Murder |” thought the policeman, as he hastencd | towards the fire. ‘Then thatold man diditl”’ — CHAPTER VL MARK, THE FOSTER-BROTHER, TURNS SOLDIER— PLOTS AGAINST NELLY LANCASTER—THE SWORN AND DEADLY FOE—SPIES ENGAGED BY JO“LL— THE FAT BOY AND ‘BUTTONS IN ECSTACIES— THE’ JOURNEY—OLD FLINY'S PLOT DISCOVERED —THE BANKER’S DAUGHTER. ACCORDING to a preyious arrangement made with the young Garibaldians, Frank and his brother Tom proceeded straight to London the same night they left Bromley ‘Hall, but for what purpose they toldnoone. » sraiidialaty 2a i Dick Fellows hinted that they had gone to see their old uncle beféré leaving England. Hugh Tracy, howeyer,' thought differently, for neither Frank nor T'ém had ever been ‘on very good © terms with ‘‘the ld miser,” ‘as they called him. © In fact, the truth was they had had violent quar- rels with him, *4* "as Sie Heth, 1am cig ioe It was also rumoured .among the young Gari- baldians that they had had*fréequent “rows” with the old man, and it was said their uncle did not much care what'they did dr where they went to. Be that as it may, ‘and let the opinions of his young comrades be what they might, both Frank and Tom appeared tra the scene again at the appointed time and place, greatly to the Gelight of the Fat Boy,” and young We Bultons," ‘both of whom entered heart and soul’ into’ the" proposed trip to Italy to join Garibalge 2280 en espace The “ Fat Boy” didn’t much care about the-pros- pect of fighting the Austrians, it is true, although he was no coward when “cornered” and compelled to use his fists, or any weapon that was handy, In truth, he saw nothing else in the proposed expedition than pilfering, and plundering, and sacking villages and towns for the sake of booty, devilment, and good living. - Fat as he was, he was always ripe for a lark and fun of any kind, but his chief delight was in “ feeding ” well upon the fat of the land, and of sleeping any number of hours he could get. “Buttons,” on the other hand, was quite the reverse of the Fat Boy. While “ Fatty” was round, unwieldy, slow, and possessed of an unlimited appetite, young Buttons was quick, slim, always wide awake, tricky, and slimy as an eel—here, there, and everywhere at once, He delighted in adventure of any sort, was active as a cat, and cunning as a young ape, ‘Buttons’? was much beloved by all the young Garibaldians, would go anywhere, or do anything for them, was up to all sorts of larks and madcap freaks with policemen and servant-girls, was always getting in and out of scrapes of all kinds, and fond | of singing songs, When Frank and Tom joined their comradesit was — observed that the former looked pale, nervous, and ~ full of anxiety, but this soon disappeared, and al- though he shunned all mention of London and of his uncle, he soon regained his usual flow of good- humour and “dash,” — “Some proposed that they should start by the steamer from Southampton.to Italy. “This proposition was opposed by Frank, who whis- pered niysteriously about policemen being on the look-out for them there to arrest them. Buttons immediately proposed that they should knock down the first ‘“‘bobby”’ that dared oppose them. Fatty, for his part, didn’t care which route was selected so that it was easy and pleasant, and didn’t involve much jolting about. After a lengthy conference between Frank and other young leaders it was decided to nass over to France, and take a steamer that was to sail from Marseilles with a crowd of disguised volunteers who were -bound for Garibaldi—young men who had for the most part at one time or another been in the French army. em This was agreed to by all unanimously, and par: ticularly hy “Fatty,” who had loving, longing dreams of French fruits and famous French wines and brandies, commodities which young Paunch greatly delighted in whenever his limited allowauce of pocket-money would “run to if.” "hn ’ Away then they started by rail for Dover, and a merry, noisy party they were, singing and shouting, smoking and drinking all the Way, greatly to the annoyance and alarm of sundry old ladies and gentlemen who were fellow-passengers. Buttons had never been on the railway before. The luxury and ease of a “ first-class” carriage were delightful to him, and his mirth and noisiness knew no bounds. et, Dick Fellows, Hugh Tracy, Tom Ford, and the other young leaders sang patriotic songs until almost hoarse with shouting. But Frank was dark, silent, and moody. He had the pale, restless look of one who was fearful. His face was sorrowful, and almost hagzard. Ife seemed at times like one who had dread re- morse for some fearful crime. He was thoughtful of what Joel Flint had said before they parted during the riot and heat of con- flict at school— “rank, Iam your mortal enemy, and until death! I will follow you like an evil genius throughout the bounds of the whole earth !—you cannot, you shall not escape me! I will ruin you—nay, blast your name and character wherever you go! When you shall be branded asa traitor I will laugh with scorn ; when you stand in the felon’s dock, a convicted thief and assassin, my revenge will be complete, but not tillthen. Fly where you will, you shall be followed night and die! We are sworn enemies! I mill drive you to madness and de- spair I” This fearful curse Frank well remembered, but why d ob! enter aa such an inveterate hatred he could ot tell, Their natures were opposite, Joel was much older, but still they heartily de- tested each other, and were deadly enemies from the first moment they had ever met, A strange fatality hun g over them, One was clever, the other a dunce, Frank was loved by more th i where Joel was despis re an one fair damsel, aaa nner GEomicboo S (©)