Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 355: what you’re looking at

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

vA. oy) hd ‘ 7 ? — OE Lee es! Fae aR ew eel mK f ve r? } OF ad . * at ~ ~ en) ee A x a) mA wv PS age Wore on by Trae at et — : ee OY De a om rae ws ee at eel are Y We ee ees ifs Saat Ny eeets i Re. ee? oa POE Pee rex Wgtog are Ninn: ic; 25 AS vas wy we: vy, - ing j ~ * © fa Wey utgty : <=) ™ < ) af re . : 4 ee” . ~* y eC: . : " e ah oe atten 4. c7 oe ak F ; Te - ‘s re - f ee \ ; ? Yi > he “ Forward, then.” Once more the highwaymen set theiy steeds in motion. Ere they had advanced many steps, however, they were startled by hearing the sound of hasty footsteps. The next moment a man came into view. ae was on foot, and running at the very top of his speed. ea excited did he seem, that he appearea altogether un- conscious that horses were on the road before him, which happening to be narrow about that part, there was every meopanility that he would come into violent contact with them. At the very last moment ho bebeld cur friends, and stopped himself abruptly. For a moment it seemed as though he was sbout to turn round and endeavour to force a hasty passage through the quick-set hedge with which the road was bounded. But if this had been his intention it was immediately ; abandoned. A great change came over him. With one bound he placed himself in front of Claude and Jack, and then, in the accents of indescribable fear, he cried: “*Gentlemen—gentlemen, in the name of common humanity I call upon you to protect me! Save me—oh, save me! Gentlemen, save me—save me!” There was something so extraordinary and withal so ludicrous in the appearance of this new-comer, that the two highwaymen, instead of responding to his appeal, sat stock still upon their horses, regarding him fixedly. While they are thus engaged we will take the oppor- tunity of describing in a few words the nature of this man’s exterior. He was about the middle age, and somewhat inclined to be corpulent. His attire was that of a tolerably well-to-do London tradesman, but it was now in a terrible condition. His coat had been split up the back, so that it hung be- hind him in two most extraordinary-looking tails. The rest of his clothing was tornin many places and literally beplastered with mud, looking as though in his headlong race he had tumbled down, and then had rolled over and over in some mysterious way until he hed rolled himself on to his feet again. His hat and wig were both gone, and his bald, shining pate added not a little to the ridiculousness of his appear- ance. “My good man,” said Olaude Duval at length, “ what is the matter, and what do you want me to save you from ? So far asI can tell, we are the only people near this spot.” Phe stranger was so exhausted, and so scant of breath, that he could not immediately make a reply. Puffing and blowing like a grampus, he cast apprehen- sive glances around him. ‘They are coming after me,” he gasped at length—“ I : am pursued, but, luckily, 1 have out-distanced them a little. Hark! can you hear ?” Our friends listened intently, but no sound whatever came upon their ears. “What is the meaning of all this?” asked Jack. “ By whom are you pursued? I can hear no one.” : “Ah, gentlemen,” said the man, “you have no idea what I have gone through during these last two days and nights—no idea whatever! Ah me! and when I tell folks, I shall be disbelieved and laughed at, I knowI shall. - Ah!” He wiped the perspiratioa from his brow while he spoke, and seated himself on a long stone that happened to be close to the hedge-bank en one side of the road. *I do believe,” he continued, “that I am in a fair way of making my escape. If I could only rest a little, gentle- men, and recover my wind and strength a little, I should doubtiess get away altogether. ButI¢are not stor kere unless you will be so kind as to remain and protect me if they come.” “‘Phey 2?” echoed Claude. “Who do you mean by they, __ and what have you done that you should be pursued?” “Done 2?” THE KNIGHT OF TH® ROAD. 1727 —_ Re aoe * Nothing, gentlemen—nothing at all {” “Then why are you pursued ?” “ That would take some time to teli; but while F am resting here fora few moments I will, if you like to listen, make you acquainted with the most extraordinary concurrence of circumstances you ever heard of! Ak ;” This interjection is to represent the peculiar kind of sigh with which this singular personage concluded rery sentence. The cariosity of Claude aud Jesx was greatly rowsd, and therefore they at once desired their singular som- panion to speak freely. “Tam glad of that,” he ejaculated, immediately uzon receiving their permissioh—*“ very glad indeed, for do you know that I am so perplexed and bewildered by the many events which have occurred, that a narration such as I am about to make will materially assist me to com- prehend them.” ‘¢ Be speedy, then,” said Sixteon-String Jack, “for we are engaged upon business of importance and cannot afford to stay long.”’ “Ah, me! Well, lam a tradesman from London—ea respectable tradesman. My shop is at the corner of Bucklersbury. Perhaps you may know it, gentlemen.” The highwaymen shook their heads. “Tt don’t matter,” continued the stranger. have to take my word for more than that. However, it is a fact. Mine is one of the largest establishmerts, and I nee only in the very best silks, velvets, and such like.’ Some little impatience was manifested by the highway- men at this detail. The stranger, however, went on. “Lately I have had a very constant, and as I believed, excellent customer—quite a lady she appeared to be, aud sho bought many of my things and paid a good price forthem. Who she was I neither knew nor cared, but I learned that she kept a first-class house in a fashionable street, and lived in first-class style. Don’t think I am going about the bushtoo much. Iam notindeed. QOblige me by listening, gentlemen, for I assure you the strange part of my story is to come, and you will admit that you never heard anything so monstrous. Ah!” “You will OHAPTER MXXYV. SIXTEEN-SFRING JACK AND CLAUDE DUVAL FOLLOW UP THEIR ODD ADVENTURE. Upon receiving this iatimation, our friends prepared themselves to listen more attentively, and the stranger continued, in a rapid voice: “Two days ago I received a letter from an unknown correspondent, warning me that a suspicious character had been frequenting my shop of lato, and that she no doubt intended to make a victim of me. ‘‘ Unfortunately, the writer of tho letter was not sufii- ciently explicit. ‘6 ] was thinking over this, and endeavouring to re- member all the different people who had been in the shop lately, when the lady I have mentioned to you drove up to the door in her carriage. ‘‘T went myself, opened the door, and assisted her to alight, and this completely druve out of my head all recol- lection of the letter. *¢ You will not wonder at this when I tell you that the lady was in a very gracious humour. She told me she wanted to make some very extensive purchases in silks and veivets. Nothing that [I put before her was too good or too dear in price, and 1 began to think, as one roll after ancther was bought, that 1 was going to doa capital day’s work.” “This lady, I presume,” said Sixteen-String Jack, ‘‘was the cause of all your troubles?” : “She was. But you shall bear. Have the patience to listen to me far a fow moments longer.” Jack promised, aud the stranger continued his narra- tive: . “ At last she told me she had bought all that she re- qaroed. She asked for the bill. It was made out in dus course. ‘he ainount was just over two hundred pounds. “She put ber hand into her pocket, and then ed- claimed ;: “¢Qh, sir, I have not enough with me to pay you.’ () (E(@) EONMNIEIOOKS ie ae