The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 259: what you’re looking at

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

THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S YOUNG CAPTAIN. 253 “T hope, Mr. Squills, that you have not been to Italy on any such errand ?” ““No, not exactly. Jh, Blunt?” ~ “No,” said Blunt, laughing; ‘‘we bave been travelling for the last three months on a hunting expedition.” “ Hunting expedition,” said Mr, Lancaster, ‘‘ and in such troubled times as these ?”’ “Oh, that is nothing,” said Squills; ‘we are sportsmen of no ordinary character, and are nearly always fishing in troubled waters.” “T believe you,” said Blunt. ‘*T do not understand you, gentlemen,” said Mr, Lancaster. ‘Shall we tell them ?”’ said Blunt. ‘Well, I suppose there’s no harm,’ Squills replied ; ‘‘at least, not now that we have left the country.” “ Well, then, captain,” said Blunt, “if you must know who and what we are, why then——”’ ‘“We are two English detectives,’ interrupted Squills. ‘ Detectives !” said old Lancaster, in surprise. ‘‘ Detectives!” exclaimed Ellen Lancaster, in wonder. “Yes, miss ; nothing else, I can assure you,” said Blunt, laughing, “Why you astonish me,” said the old banker. “Hang me if I didn’t think you were something of that sort; I did, as true as I’m a seaman,” * And what brought you so far away from home, then, if it -is not an unfair question?” asked old Lancaster. “We are on the look-out for two youths who were supposed to have murdered their uncle, an old gentleman of miserly habits but great wealth, of the name of Ford.” ‘And their names?” « “Frank and Tom Ford,” Blunt replied. At the bare mention of these names Ellen Lan- caster fainted, and was borne insensible to her cabin. “Tis nothing ; nothing, gentlemen, I can assure you,” said old Lancaster, in allusion to his daugh- ter’s sudden faintness. ‘She is subject to slight fits of this kind occasionally.” “Does she know these youths, then?” asked Squills, winking at Blunt. “Know such young vagabonds as they are !” said old Lancaster, highly offended; ‘“‘of course she does not. How should my daughter know such rascals ?” 7 a great disdain the old banker walked out upon eck, -. “Well, if she doesn’t know them it is singular to me,’’ said Squills ; “didn’t you see howshe changed colour—first red, then white ?” “Of course I did; but that’s nothing,’ Blunt replied, ‘“And didn’t you catch either of them?” the captain asked. “No; we were very near it a time or two, but they always managed to slip through our fingers ; they have a lot of harem scarem English youths under their command, and have been fighting like young devils for Garibaldi— Frank on land, and Tom Ford on sea.” A little more conversation took place (all of which Joel Flint was attentively listening to), when old Lancaster returned to the cabin again, looking very red in the face, “ How dare you ask me such a question as you did?” said Lancaster. ‘I take it as an insulf.” ‘“You need not then, sir,’ said Blunt; ‘for although the two youths were at first suspected, we have good reasons for believing now that they had nothing whatever to do with that foul deed.” ““ What !” said old Lancaster, ‘‘ not guilty? they must be; and I only hope and trust they may be hanged at Newgate.” “Well, I don’t,” said Squills; “certainly appear- ances were very much against them at first, but this was caused by the cunning of some knaves who had a great interest in misleading the public.” ‘‘T don’t believe it,’ said old Lancaster, “TI always said, and [ still say it, from all I have heard and seen of this Frank Ford, that he was a young villain.” at “Why just now you said you never heard of im,” “My daughter has not, I tell you, but I have,” said Lancaster warmly, “Well, I have never seen him, to my knowledge, in all my life,” said Blunt; ‘‘ but from what I hear, he is a brave gallant youth, and a handsome fellow also.” ‘‘ Brave—handsome !” repeated Lancaster, and left the cabin in great disgust. ‘So they are not guilty after all, eh ?” the captain asked. “No; at least we are ordered home to England again, and that doesn’t seem as if the people at Scotland Yard considered either of them guilty, does it?” “No ; but how long were you after them ?” ‘Several months, The last month, however, we have been on the look-out for a different indi- vidual,” “Oh, indeed! and who is he, pray ?” ‘An old lawyer’s son called Flint.” “ Oh, now I come to recollect,” said the captain; ‘‘T have seen something about old Ford’s murder in the papers,” “Of course you have, and a great deal about it, too.” “It was a most mysterious affair,” said Squills. . ** And the devil of it is,” said Blunt, ‘‘ there have been more murders than one over it.” *‘ Aye, true,’ said Squills; ‘‘several of the force were very roughly handled in the old lawyer’s office.” “One, I learn, has been shot in Epping Forest.” “ And it strikes me that Gale, who has had'the job in hand, will run great risk of losing his life also before the affair is cleared up.” “They must be very artful scoundrels whoever they are,” said the captain. ““ Yes,” said Blunt, ‘no doubt of it. Ishouldn’t like to be in the shoes, though, of either the lawyer or his son, Joel, if Gale once gets on the track; there is a reward of £100 offered for the apprehen- sion of either of them,” Joel Flint heard all this conversation as he lay in his cabin, and it must be confessed his heart beat © wildly with fear and excitement. “ What ! detectives on board,” he thought ; ‘‘ who would ever have supposed it? I must remain even more quiet than before,’ he mused. ‘“ They seem to know all about old Ford’s murder, it would seem. But what of that? There is no suspicion against me, so that’s one comfort. I wonder, though, what they’d say if they knew that I had most of old Ford’s treasure on board? Ha! think of that. How lucky I have been through the entire transaction ! and actually outwitted Tomasso after all. I wonder if he’s dead? I hope he was drowned, for, if he lives, he’ll not leave a stone un- turned to have revenge.” For many days the ship sailed well on her way Go NOOKS. CO