Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 81: what you’re looking at

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~, ~ *& hs, as to find his way back to the door where the Governcr | - would expect to sce him would be perfectly impo bie ia , = “ie ley ge ne 54 od 8 4 Pay Fier es yh ad, aan iF « ry an. . “ SPREE ‘als i ‘> aa > Aye Ne ee r 1 Oe 7 _ it than the lamp, after flickering a moment or tw-. ex- ~ ate em, ~~ * £. GBs at re Ferhaps tho flanse weald expire in a few minutes, THE KNIGHT oF THE ROAD. 145% ‘Excuse me,” continued Dick, “but I will. Now, { At any rate, it could not burn long, and, much as it} don't think you will be displeased to hear that I fancy { voxed him to leave the spot, he felt constrained to do so, the darkness. Accordingly fhe retraced his steps, and, owing ¢> tho excellent precautions he had taken in marking hiz rate, he had not the least difficulty in doing this. The door was reached, but scarcely had he arrived at ired. | : He was now in the most absolute darkness, ane alto- gether without the means of dispersing it. Nothing remained for him to do but to stay just where he was, and count the seconds as they elapsed. How earnestly he longed for night to come, in order that the Governor might make his appearance. He could not dare to reflect upon the contingency that some circumstance might arise to make it impossible for Mr. Bradbury to pay his promised visit. It would be bad enough to consider the evil when it presented itself. Dick was very weary, and a long time had elapsed since he had slept. A drowsy feeling now came over him—perhaps caused by the badness of the atmosphere. He did not attempt to struggle against it. but, sinking down in & curious, uncomfortable-looking posture, dropped off into a profound slumber. ~ Strange dreams flitted before him, in which the curious and fearful discoveries he had made held a prominent lace. 3 How long he would have slept if left to himself would be a problem difficult of solution, but all at once he was aroused by a slight noise, and, opening his eyes, he saw the door open immediately afterwards, and perceived the Governor standing on the threshold with a lamp! in his hand, the brilliancy of which absolutely dazzled him. That was only because he had been for suck a long time in total darkness, and it was a feeling that quickly passed away. There was a look of anxious care upon Mr. Braabary’s countenance, such as Dick had never seen upon it be- fore. ‘You are safe, I see,” was his first remark. “Yes, safe enough,” returned Dick, shaking himeel!. “T have been asleep—I don’t know how long, for the lamp burned out and left me in darkness.” The Governor stared in surprise. He could scarcely conceive of sleeping in sash a lace. . But Dick was anxious to know what was going en in the world above, and questioned him accordingly. The Governor had but little to tell, and nothing that _ he said was very satisfactory. A tremendous outcry had been raised by the police and ‘all the authorities, and the prevalent idea in the minds of all was that he was still concealed somewhere in the pri- son. - -4T had hoped,” the Governor said, “that I should be ~ able to release you to-night, and, for all I know, it might be accomplished; yet there is such an amouut of hazard connected with it that I cannot help shrinking back.” “Indeed!” said Dick. ‘You fear you will be seen ?” “I do; not exactly that I need care much for the con- sequences, but still, the letter expressly states that you were to be liberated secretly.” “Yes; and it must be secretly,” said Dick, “or, rely upon it, I sheil be psunced upon at once.” Dick began to reflect a little. Perceiving him to be siient, the Governor took from nis pocket a small package. ** I guessed you would be hungry,” he said, “end so I have brought you something to eat. Here is another bottie of brandy to wash it dov‘n with, so you must make yourself as comfortable as you can, and wait until there is a chance of getting free.” “Mr. Bradbury,” returned Dick, “I am much obliged _ to youfor all that you have done in my behalf—very ~ much obliged to you indeed, and rest assured I eha}} mot _ forget it. I should be very sorry, too, to get yeu into _ any trouble on my account.” “Oh,” said the Governor, “don’t mention it!” hall be able to make my eseape from the prison without ur connivance or assistanc®.”. “Indeed! How so?” eed ‘* Why, in my explorations through these corridors, I have found adoor that, strangely enough, communicates with the cellar of a house which, from the position of it, tanat be, I take it, somewhere near Newgate Market.” “Indeed!” said the Governor. “I never Keard of such athing. Have you not been dreaming ?” ‘ ~ “No, I think not; but, however, if you will leave me the © lamp you carry, and take away this one, which has burnt out, I will try what I can do towards effecting my own release. If I succeed, all well and good—you will soon hear of me; if I fail, you will find me close to the door here, and I shall then be obliged to look to you for my safety.” The Governor remained for some moments in reflec- tion “Tf this is really the case,” he exclaimed, at length, ‘1 shall be heartily rejoiced, since I shall have nothing fur- ther to fear from those who may take it into their heads to watch my movements. I will leave you, then, since you wish it, to your own exertions, and to-morrow night about this time I will, if it lies in my power, creep down to this door, and, if I find you are not here, I shall come at once to the conclusion that you have managed to avail yourself of the mode of escape you speak of.” CHAPTER DCCCXC. DICK TURPIN IS SURPRISED TO FIND THAT HE IS NOT ALONE IN OLD NEWGATE. “Just so,” said Turpin. ‘And in case I should be gone, as | hope I shall be, just let me remind you about that substantial recognition I was talking about.” “Oh,” replied the Governor, briskly, ‘ there’s no need to remind me about that—none whatever, I can assure ou!” “Very likely not,” said Dick, smiling, “but I only just mentioned it in order that 1 might give you a cau- tion.” “A caution? Of what kind?” asked the Governor, his timorous nature being at once awoke to danger. “Why, it is simply this: I would advise you not to take any active steps for finding what is hidden under the old tree for, say, a week at least.” ‘““And may lask why?” said the Governor, after a pause. ‘You may—I have no objection to telling you.” “Why is it, then ?” *‘ Because 1 think it highly probable that for some time to come your movements will be closely watched by the police officers—mind you, I don’t say they will be: I only think it probable, for some of them are such dunder- headed fellows that they might get hold of the notion that you were an accomplice of mine, which would be a very good joke indeed.” The Governor iaughed, but rather grimly. “At any rate,” added Turpin, quickly, “it would not be well for anyone to become acquainted with this secret besides yourself.” ‘*No, no—I can quite see the force of that. “Then,” added Turpin, “‘may we conclude that it is’ agreed you will not pay your visit to Hampstead for thé spacs of a week ?” “Yes,” answered the Governor, with something’ like a sigh, for no doubt he was both anxious and curious te know yhat kind of substantial recognition he was about to receive. Dick's real motive fur making this bargain did not for a moment strike him. Tt was, however, simply because he knew very well no euch troasure was buried among the roots of the tree he described. though he intended to place a reward there for the Governor to find. He could not tell what might happen to }.tm in the course of the next day or two, and if the Governor got to the tree before him it would be vexing in more than one respect; at any rate, it w guild seem as though he had spoken falsely. Now, however, this was arngged, and Dick felt quite aontented and easy upon the point, nNicdoo @ | (E(@) KS (E(0) m