The Skeleton Crew; Or, Wildfire Ned — page 158: what you’re looking at

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

152 chimney that although they looked up they could not perceive me. . “The old woman and her friends left the room, and there I sat among the soot thinking what should be done next, “The bed was brought up again, and the old woman tidied her room, and towards night went out, for, as she said, she was afraid to sleep there alone that night. “She locked the door upon me, and as soon as I heard her do so I crept down, and lay for an hour in her clean sheets. “ When midnight chimed from the church towers I got up and tore the old woman’s sheets into strips. ““ With these strips I made a sort of rope, and let myself down into the fields below. “Seeing a black-looking forest not far off I ran towards it, and slept for an hour or two. “ My first business in the morning was to make towards a village to get bread, for I was almost famished with hunger. “But judge of my surprise when I discovered that in the flight and scuffle of escape I had lost every farthing I had in the world. “The baker looked very hard and cunningly at me, but I offered to sell him one of my pistols if he would only give me some refreshment. “The baker agreed to the bargain, and gave me plenty of bread and meat for my weapon. “ But, unfortunately for me, the baker himself lad been robbed about a month before that, and he looked upon every rough person as a cut-throat or thief. “ When, therefore, he had got my pistol he told one of his apprentice lads to watch my movements while he went and informed the bailiff, “ The bailiff had exerted himself very much to find out who the persons were who had robbed his particular friend, the pot-bellied baker, so that he felt great pleasure at finding that one of them at least had been discovered at last. “He fussed about a long time, putting on his sword and pistols, but in the meantime I made the best of my way to the forest again, and began to enjoy myself with the food I so much needed. - “JT sat behind a tree smoking after my repast, and then had a gentle dose, ““T was suddenly awakened by four stout athletic fellows armed with clubs, and led on by the pom- pous bailiff. “They seized me, hand and foot, tied me with cords, and then carried me through the village in triumph, and put me into prison. “T protested that I was a runaway German, and wished to fight against Prussia in the French service. “ The French were then engaged in a heavy war, and wanted men; but they did not believe my story, and insisted that I must be one of the famous ‘Scorchers’ from my ugly looks. “They treated me awfully in prison, and kicked and cuffed me until I was black and blue, and sore all over. ‘Ag luck would have it, however, after a monthi’s confinement, a party of recruits passed through the village. “ Not being able to prove who or what I was, the bailiff felt very much inclined to give me over to the recruiting officer so as to get rid of me. “ Anything to me was preferable to a prison life, and I gladly volunteered to go into the French army to fight against the pot-bellied, money-grubbing Dutch and Germans. [ c> AU 6 Sou! THE SKELETON CREW; OR, WILDFIRE NED. “ As I was a well-made young fellow, the soldier jumped at the chance of having such a fine recruit, “I joined them, and, after a few days of hard marching, we reached Strasbourg, where I was drilled six times a day until, at last, I began to think they would drill the very life out of me. “T was all along dreaming of and devising some plan to escape to England, but could not, ‘‘ At last an accident occurred which took me out of the army. “My drill serjeant was more of a German than a Frenchman ; in truth he was a naturalized German, and he thought the best way to make recruits learn their drill was to thrash them with a big stick. “T saw him hit several poor devils about the legs and shoulders, “Thinks I to myself, ‘this won’t do for me.’ “Nor did it. . “One day, however, as I couldn’t escape, I thought “I'd do something, so as to be sent to prison for a day or two, so as to have plenty of time to think over new plans for getting away to England. “JT, among a great many more, were placed under this German drill master, and he began to knock the poor devils about most unmercifully. “My turn came next. ““T did something wrong, and he was about to strike me with his thick club. “On the instant I raised my musket, and, with one blow, knocked him down as dead as a herring. “In an instant I ran away out of the barracks, gun and all. “They pursued me. **T turned upon them and shot several, * Like a hare I ran towards the Rhine, and jump- ing into a small boat, which I found there, pushed off from shore, and before my pursuers could get near enough I was in the middle of the river, and out of reach. “Down the river I flew with the wind in my favour, and soon reached the mouth of the river. “There I hailed a ship which was under full canvas. | “Tt proved to be an English vessel, and they took me on board. “ For several weeks we were knocking about in very bad weather, and I made myself so useful that one and all took a great liking to me. ‘But here again misfortune overtook me. “After buffetting about for more than a month, we were driven on to the west coast of England, and one night, when least expected, the ship struck on a rock, and was driven violently on shore, “The night being dark, none of us could form any idea where we were going to, or where we were. ‘“ Next morning, however, explained everything. “The ship was a total wreck. ‘Not a eoul among the whole crew was Alive but myself. ‘‘T -was master of the wreck, and all it contained ; but yet I could not get on board very well, for the waves were washing right over it, “While I sat watching the stranded vessel, and thinking what it might contain, I was startled by what I there saw, “All around me danced a dozen skeleton men, who seized me by my arms and legs, and bore me away to their rendezvous,” “And who was it ?” asked Phillip Redgill. ‘The Red Man of the Gibbet. He was the chief of the Skeleton Crew in those days, and that’s how I became one of them,”’’ OMiIGhDoo =}