Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

1.148 “ allow me to do that, for I fancy I am stronger than you are. But how about the lock—how shall we urga that P”* “7 know not,” said the Governor. “The chances are a thousand to cne whether the key belonging to it 1s in existence. To me, the door itself looks very old and rotten, and if the bars are taken down and the b 3Bts withdrawn, we may be able to force it open.” Dick thought so too, and then, not without m ch trouble, and difficulty, and delay, managed te remove the fastenings spoken of. The bolts gave him the greatest trouble, for it seemed as though they had completely rusted into their sockets. “Now,” said the Governor, when the last bolt was withdrawn, ‘try if the door will open.” Dick pressed against ‘t, and it gave way slightly. ‘“‘T think we shall manage it,’”’ he said. ‘‘ Either the lock has rusted away or else the place into which the bo lt fits has rotted.’ He again renewed the pressure, though the Go vernor exclaimed 1 ‘No violence, 1nind—no violence! This place, for all I know, may be visited to-zaorrow, and your destruction, or, at least, your discovery is certain if there are any appearances of this door having been forced.” “ All right,” said Dick. ‘There you are.”’ Just as he spoke the door creaked open a little way upon its hinges. The lock had been forced, but it was the doorpost that had given way, and on the side where they now 007 no traces of violence could be perceived. No sooner was the door opened than a quantity of foul air rushed forth. So powerful was it that both Dick and the Governor felt giddy and sick, and the fight they carrisd was well- rich extinguished. But, mingling with the purer atmosphere in the damp passage, the foul air quickly lost its noxious qualities. “That’s not encouraging,” said Dick, a8 soon as he was able to speak. ‘ However, we will push the door wide open, so as to ventilate the place a little bit.’ This he did, and remained for some time in order that the desired effect might be produced. Then, warned by the flight of time, he picked up the bottle of brandy from the floor, and took the lamp from the hands of the Governor. “ Quod-bye for the present,” he said— good-bye! ‘Make the door secure after me, and when it is time for me to escape, come here again.”’ “You may depend upon that,”’ said the Governor. ‘‘ And, if a long time elapses, do not be either alarmed for circumstances may keep me away.”’ or uneasy, “You may depend upon that. I shall keep perfectly quiet until you return. I have no wish to be dis- covered.” “That is sarficient, then. Good-bye !” Dick, with the lamp in his hand, crossed the gloomy threshold, and stood in a passage leading he knew not whither. : : he Governor closed the door, and, in spite of the dark : ded in replacing the whole of the | _ : RE RUC C eee ea 2 iXing’s letter, yet he knew there could not fail to be fastenings, and so successfully that it was very doubt- ful that the fact of the door having been opened would be discovered. Although in Newgate, and in that damp, cold pas- sage, Dick Turpin had felt while the Governor was with him that he was an inmate of this world and that fhere was life around him; but ae soon as the old door was closed this impression vanished, and was succeeded by a totally different one. it seemed as though in crossing that threshol? he had stepped from life to death. The silence around was something terrible; even che retreating footsteps of the Governer could not be distin- guished, and the darkness was so dense that it defied altogether the illuminating powers of the lamp, whieh seemed to shine only like a star from a dark cloud. With a view of getting the better of these feelings, Dick applied himself to the bottle of brandy, and having , drunk a small portion of the spirit, felf considerably relieved—he looked about him, indeed, with quite a} different feeling, and he either imagined, or it was a reality, that the lamp now burned more clearly than before, and enabled him #0 see around hrm. This would bring up a fresh charge against him, for BLACK BESS; O&, _So far as he could tell, the passage in which he stood did not differ particularly from the one he had just left; yet he felt a strange sensation creep over him, as he re flected tha* probably he was the only human being whe had stood there for more than a hundred years. And now, as he remained quite still, listening, a faint sound that was before inaudible came upon his ears. It was the dull drip, drip of water trickling downz somewhere in the distance. ) In such a placeas that Dick felt that it woula de some relief = conselaion to hear even his own voice, and s0, in default of having anyone to speak to, h his thoughts aloud. a Be ean “T can’t remain here au the time,”’ he said—“T should be chilled through to the very bone. No, I will take advantage of this opportunity to explore the hidden ™ mysteries of old Newgate. No doubt I shall find much to interest me and repay me for mytrouble. ButI must be careful in my wanderings. What means can I adopt to find my way back to this door with certainty ?’” This was a question that-required a good deal of deliberation. Many means suggested themselves to him, only, un- fortunately, he had not the necessary tools to carry them into effect. A simple plan would have been to make chalk marks upon the floor, but even this was impossible, for he had no chalk. Soon afterwards, however, it occurred to him that he might manage to pick out a piece of crumbling mortar from the wall, and make that answer his purpose; at any rate, he resolved to try. He succeeded in obtaining a piece of mortar from between two of the stones, and, upon trying whether it would leave a mark behind it, was delighted to find that it answered the purpose almost as well as chalk itself, for, being soft with damp, it crumbled easily. Feeling now great confidence in being able to find his way back, and having refreshed himself with another draught of brandy, Dick took up the lamp, and walked slowly and carefully along the passage, looking keanly at each side of him. ~ Having gone about twenty paces, he paused, and, stooping down, drew upon the flooring a rude repre- sentation of an arrow with the point turned im the direction of the door. By the aid of this he could not possibly fail to find his way back, nor could he be in any doubt as to whick way he should turn ; and this precaution he resolved to adopt r4every twenty paces or thereabouts. CHAPTER DCCCLEXXVII. IN WHIOH THE TWU SHERIFFS LOSE THEIR APPETITES FOR BREAKFAST. “~- Ir was im no very enviable frame of mind that the- Governor of Newgate groped his way back through the dark passages to his own apartments. However much cenfidence ke might place im the tremendous row when Turpin’s absence was discovered, and the consequences might be very disagreeable te himself, though be was sustained by the thought thes in the end all would be well. : His mind was troubled, too, respecting the egregious tiunder he had made with regard to the warrant. beeome known, or the sheriffs might take it into their heads to look st the document, and then a discovery He was afraid that mistake would somehow or other would be certain. he would have to clear himself from his very culpable negligence. ; When, therefore, he ascended to his bedroom te snatch an hour or so’s sleep before the business of tne day began, he was in no humour to listen to the rail- ings of hia wife; and in w short time such a storm of was obliged to retreat words arose that the Governor : there was quite ous vanquished from the room—sieep of the question. . | Descending to his office, he sat there watching & | daylight ae it gradually stole into the roma. 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