Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 126: what you’re looking at

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

143% BLACK BESS: On. a ae Se a And soina short time they took their departare, and{ Dick heard this intelligenco with the greatest satistac- | Simon tvas left alone. tion. ile watched the last until he had disappeared from] ‘Are you sure he’s all right ?” asked the oonstable. vicht; then, with an audible sigh, h placed the blunder- * Well, I think he is,” said Simon, “ But gince the door buss carefully against the upright post of the stocks, and | was closed, I have not heard kim move.” assumed avery hopeless, dejected attitude. “That's onty his artfulness,” said the constable. ‘I’ve It was clear that he was by no means pleased with his | had some experience with mea of his stamp, and know duty; but he had no means of escape from it. how to deal with them. He wants taming a little, and I Dick continued to watch him through the crevice for | calculate hunger will do it.” | several moments, and then, turning round, he gazed After a few more words. the vonstable took his about him, anxious to make himself acquainted with his | departure, and Simon was once more left alone. prison, | Dick had now decided upon the pursuit of a detinite Lhe interier of the round-house was now muck more | course of action, which he hoped would result in his clearly discernible thaa when he first entered it, for his | perfect freedom. ; eyes had accustomed themselves toe the very small amount Whether it would do so or not depended upon various of light which crept in. contingencies; but he had great hopes. Nothing more cheerless, desolate, aud discusting could His first task was to rid himself of the handcuffs, which be imagined. galledand chafed him exceedingly. : The village pound was not in a worse condition, and He had made many and continual efforts to accomplish that was saying a good deal. this, but to no purpose. There was no seat in the place, and nothing that would Now, however, with stern, angry determination, hoe set serve as one. about it, resolved to endure any amount of pain in order The walls, though not very stout ap strong, were, | to get his hands at liberty. nevertheless, smooth. Squeezing his left hand, which was rather less than The top was formed merely of thatch, so that, but for | his right, into the smailest possible dimensions, he began the presence of Simon and the blunderbuss outside, it | to tug with might and main in order to get it through the would have been no diflicult matter to escape. strong steel hoop. This last word was continually before his mind, and, | In the effort, the skin was torn from the back of his having made himself as familiar as he wished to be with | hard in long strips. ae the inside of the rovad-house, he turned his back to the The pain was intense; but, clenching his teeth together, wall. Selecting the cleanest place he could find, and leaning | he persevered, for he felt each time his hand was drawn against it, he supported himself by driving his heels | further and further through the rigg. into the thigk clayey mud which formed the floor- | At last he was free, so far as ridding his left hand of inc. the handcuff was concerned. Here he gave himself up to thought, wondering which He had not time to liberate his right, for he knew that would b the best means of achieving his freedom. fe~ a time the manacle hooped about it would offer him After all, he thought Kbimon was not a man to be’, wut slight inconvenience. particularly dreaded. Now that he had done so much towards the accomplish- ‘Shere would be a risk in attempting to break forth, but } ment of his design, he became exceedingly impatient for ,ct Dick Turpin thought it might be run successfully. | night to close in. ‘Ten to one if the fellow would have the courage or It was some comfort for him to think that it was that presence of mind to discharge the blunderbuss at the righ+ ~ _~xson of the year when darkness sets in early. moment, or, if he did, it would be without an aim. By slow degrees, the interior of his prison could be less But another consideration suggested itself, which made | and less distinctly perceived ; but when darkness fairly Dick quite unwilling to run this risk. s-ttiied around, Dick made no immediate attempt at libera- The blunderbuss would certainly be fired, and if he | tion. should be so fortunate as to escape any injury from the lle was waiting for the chance to present itself of leay- various missiles it contained, the explosion, nevertheless, | the round-house quietly and speedily. would resound far and wide through the still, quiet air, | It required a great effort of self-control to remain thus and spread an immegiate alarm. idle when he might be taking steps to quit the cage. Before he should be able to get to any great distance} But his long and weary waiting was rewarded at there was a strong probability of his being overtaken and | last. recaptured. The sound of a voice from the distance, and then the No,” said Dick, after debating the subject at great | heavy tread of some one approaching, roused all his length—* no, I will not run the risk just at present. I | faculties. will wait, Perhaps fortune will favour me — who! Again applying his eyes to the crevice in the wood- knows ?” work, he looked forth, and saw, at some distance, a Dick’s resolution was to stay till nightfall, which | small, flickering light. certainly would afford him a better chance of making his It grew brighter and clearer, for it was coming closer. escape, though there was the fear that he might not be Then he perceived the bulky figure of the constable allowed to remain so long in his present quarters. approaching. That was a chance, and a chance he resolved it should} He was carrying a lantern in his hand, and it was from remain, this the light proceeded. ‘: And now, in the silence and solitude of this place, he Simor gave utterance to a responsive shout. began for the first time to give himself up to a little calin| He was glad enough to ceo his master approaching, for reflection. the solitude in which he had so long remained had Instantaneously his thoughts travelled back to the time | become almost insupportable. when that singular incident had befallen him at the * all’s well, Simon, eh ?” said the constable, when he summit of the hill. gota little nearer. The more he pondered upon this, the more at alosshe}| “Yes, all’s well,” was the answer, very sulkily given— felt to comprehend it. ‘at least, 1 suppose all’s well.” The most reasonable conclusion he could come to wes ** Why suppose ?” what he had seen was a delusion of the senses merely ; ‘‘ Because I’ve not heard a single sound since I saw you but, then, the forms of his two comrades looked so | last, and 1 can hardly bring myself to believe that he is palpable and plain that he could scarcely reconcile him- | in the cage at all.” self to this belief. “ Why—why—what you don’t mean to say that— And so, with his mind in a wate of great uneasiness | that——” and alarm, Dick slowly passed the day. «That what?” About noon the constable made his appearance, bring-| ‘ That he’s escaped ?” ins with him some dinner for Simon. ‘‘No, no—! don’t believe he kas,” said Simon. “f{ Then Dick learned that Squire Bartlett was unable to | have never took my eyes off the building for a blessed attend to his magisterial functions that day, in conse- | minute.” . quence of a hunting appointment he had with several ‘he account given by his factotum by no means picased é ntlemen in the neighbourhood or reassured tha constable. 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