Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

THE KNIGHT OF TLX @ 1507 rete naa, FAP OE Hm Om . weice than before—“ for the third time, I call upon you to wazrender !” Again s deep silence.. “ Have you dune ?” said the gasrd. * Y ea. | And time too,” he muttered, as he placed the batt of tho varbine to his shoulder. The chief officer pretended not to overbsr this remark. ‘+ Tf he’s trere,” said the guard, “it wili be a case with bim, and nomistake! I loaded the carbine myself, and know just how many bullets are in it.” “‘ Blaze away, then!” The guard pointed the carbine full at the tree, and then pulled the trigger. A slight flash and a tremendous report then followed, and the next thing the officers perceived was the guard lying at full length on his back in the middle of the road, with the muzzle of the carbine pointed skywards. The bullets went crashing among the boughs of the tree in truly an alarming fashion. Most effectually had all doubt been set at rest respect- ing the presence of the highwayman in that tree at least. Had he been there he must have fallen to the earth, riddled with bullets. The guard scrambled up to his feet again, and looked very ferocious when he saw all the officers were laughing at his expense. . “Oh, grin away,” he said—“ grin away, and be d—d to ou! It only shows what an uncommon.y good charge ’d got in the carbine! If you'll wait half a minute, we'll have a try at the next tree.” The officers showed no signs of dissent. The carbine accordingly was loaded, and one of the officers produced from a little bag a number of pistol bullets, quite a handful of which was poured in, an tightly rammed down. Again the weapon was raised and discharged. But with no more result than before. The guard staggered back after he had pulled the trigger, and tried hard to keep his balance, but he failed, and sat down with such force that all the breath was jerked out of his body. He looked upon all these failures and misha with great complacency, however, for he said to the officers : “ We may make sure he isn’t in either of those treea, mayn’t we? But he might be hiding in the next, or the next, and if he is in any one of them [’ll find him, for I won't stop until I have fired into every tree.” While speaking, he recommenced the task of loading the carbine. It was an operation that did not require many minutes, and for the third time he stood facing the trees, Now, upto the present moment Dick had looked upon these proceed- ings with a tolerable amount of composure, simply because the muzzle of the carbine was not pointed at the tree in which he had so snugly ensconced himself, and he clung to the hope that after a few trials they would get disgusted with wasting so much powder and shot. But their proceedings were more energetic and persever- ing than he had at all calculated upon, and he began to feel extremely uneasy, for the tree at which the carbine was now directed stood next to the one where he was hidden. He fixed his eyes upon the guard, and then involuntarily closed them. When he pulled the trigger tae report and crashing of the bullets among the pranches was alarming in the extreme; but he quickly recovered himself, for he found Le was as yet unhurt. He had been labouring under great apprehension, how- ever, for it was quite possible that one of the many bullets crammed into the carbine might go ev far wide of its mark as to reach him. Now, however, he held his breath, while his neart beat hard and fast. The gusrd, still undaunted, was as actively engaged as ©* 97 w retoeding his formidable weapon. i el al third time,” said the chief offieer, in 4 louder | CHAPTER CMXXV. THE QUAED OF THE MAU-CART PEXRSEVERZS mS TWA i FROSECUTION OF HIS PLAN. Dsck Turpin was now truly in a most critica] pouition. W hat step to take he knew not. He was decidedly unwilling tc cry out, ar d so igno- miniously surrender himself to she police; bu for all that, he could not make # his mind to sit theres d remain an animated target. In fact, he felt sure, should the guard nie the into the tree, his destruction would be immediate certain. It was quite im of the bullets, an whine sible for him to escape at least one he knew well that any one of them would be sufficient to cause death. No words can possibly describe the amount of intent- Bee with which he regarded the proceedings of his foes ow. Oh, how he hated that officious, troublesome guard of the mail-cart. Without him the officers could never have carried out their present plan of operations. Dick sat and watched the reloading of the carbine. He waited until the whole operation was completed, and then, with a start, remembered that he had not yet made up his mind how he should act. “Pll tell you what,” said the chief officer, ‘I am tired of this sort of thing, for I don’t believe he is in the trees at all; however, you shall have this one fire, and if it produces no results we'll part company.” ‘Oh, just as you like,” said the guard—‘“just as yor like | i den’t mind it—I look upon it as a capital bit of sport.’ But the officers clearly did not do so, for they were conscious that if they were now on the wrong scent they were giving the highwayman every opportunity of com- pleting his escape. ‘‘ Are you ready ?” said the officer, gruffly. “Yes, quite ready.” ‘Then bang away ; and make haste about it !” For the fourth time the carbine was raised and pointed at the trees. Dick sat perfectly still, and as he did so he fancied he could see right down the barrel of the murderous fire- arm. Only a second elapsed, and yet to Dick it seemed a whole age. A thousand thoughts passed through his mind. He felt that he was on the brink of destruction. He gave a thought to Maud, to his friends, to all he had any occasion to remember with kindness, and then closed his eyes and compressed his lips with the resolution to die calmly. Nothing short of a miracle could save him. But his conviction was that if his time had come it would be much better to perish by one of the bullets from the guard’s carbine than descend to be taken prisoner by the police. In either case his death would be certain. But a loud cry at this moment made him open his eves and start so violently that the branches of the trees clashed together. | It was the driver of the mail-cart who oad given utter- ance to the shout. The guard had turned rour quick as lightning, won- dering what had happened an alarming character. “‘ Look—look !” said the driver, standing upon his seat, and pointing across the meadows with one hand. ‘May I never hold the reins again if the rascal is not taking his way quite cos{ly over the fields yonder !” “'What—what?” exclaimed the officers. “jump up—jump up, all of you, and you will see! Look—look, | onder he goes, just by that tall poplar tree !” The officers scrambled wp into the cart, ami gaged eag rly in the direction to which tho drives’s iinger Pointed. } We have already described the nature of the nig tas being one when the seon broke forth at titmaim be A large rift of blue conld now be seen between tlio clouds, and in this the moon was shining with a lustre N ousurpassable, (E(0) 0)(0\(0) ( (>) <SiGO >,