Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

L468 It was through a pure accident, but for which they might have remained in entire ignorance of it. vidently, however, the trap-door had been closed in haste, and care had not been taken to clear away the straw close around the edges, consequently, when i* was let down, & portion of the straw was wedged in bei ween the trap-door an“ its frame. ack Marsnall sav *., and guashed his teeth. “T might bave guessed iti—I might have guessed it! They have been here all along, as I suspected, though I never could arrive at any proof. They have kad plenty of time to construct secret passages and suchlike, in anti- Cipation of the coming of a day like this. They did not calculate upon that, however,” he concluded, pointing to the trap-door. The men saw the gesture, though they did not exactly éatch the import of the words he spoke. They concluded, however, that his desire was the trap-door should be raised, and accordingly they bent al] their energies to this task. With much greater ease than they had dared to anticipate, the trap-door wasraised. It was thrown back quite flat upon its hinges; then, to their astonishment and admiration, they saw a gently-sloping pathway, lead- ing downwards into the earth—a pathway perfectly practicable for horses’ feet ; and indeed all doubt was set at rest as to the highwaymen having gone that way, for the ground of which the pathway was composed was damp and soft, and left very clearly the impression of the horses’ footprints. | At this moment, however, a loud cry was simulta- neously set up by the officers whe formed the cordon round the inn. This cry, coming suddenly upon the ears of those in th établing, arrested their steps. The noise becoming louder still, Jack Marshal] dashed out of the stable into the yard again, being fully under the impression that the highwaymen had been seen while attempting to quit the premises. In this he found himself deceived; but a great surprise was in store for him. At the first glance, he saw that nearly the whole of the inn was one mass of flames. How it had caught fire no one knew, and the flames had spread with such rapidity and so universally that the first alarm given to the officers was the whole simulta- neously bursting out into a blaze. The fact was, the inn had been built chiefly of wood, and this, through age, had become excessively dry—indeed, it was scarcely possible to find anything more inflam- mable, The offmeurs in the inn, keeping guard over the prisoners, were almost the last to know what had appened. hen, however, they came out into the yard, the roar- ing of the flames was something terrific. t was scarcely possible for even an astute officer like Jack Marshall to remain altogether unmoved and un- bewildered at so extraordinary an occurrence. There is to all people a fascinatioex in a fire on a grand acale. For several moments, then, he, in common with his men, could do nothing but gaze upon the grand and awful sight before them. Every moment the flames increased in volume and brilliancy, while showers of sparks flew about in every direction. It was not untti fhe roof of the old inu fell, with a tremendous crash, almost smothering the fire, that Jack Marshall recovered proper possession of his faiulties, and remembered what ought to be done. Raising his voice so that it was heard distinctly adure the roaring of the flames, he cried : “ Keep an extra look-out, all of you—keep a goou 100k - out! Iam confident they are not far away !” These orders were quickly transmitted from «ee to another, wntil all were made acquainted with them. And now the fire, recovering from the effects a the fallen roof. broke out afresh with additional vigour. Tom Davis, his wife, and Ellen gazed upon the destruc- tion of their home with saddened feelings. They felt there wasam end to the careless, happy life kad led so long. as bad been their residence there, they had BLACK BESS; OR, to them by its associations. In a few hours from that moment nothing would be left of it save a heap of smouldering ruins. They wondered also when they should gaze upon thet spot again, more especially Tom Davis, for he better comprehended the dangers of the position in which he stood than of the rest. Neither ois wife nor Ellen had an exact \Jea of the peril of their position; but Tom himself knew that the punishment of aiding and abetting felons was most severe, and in his case he was well aware that the full rigour of the law would be enforced. After particularly bidding his men to look sharply after their prisoners, and take care that they did not an sudden movement escape, Jack Marshal, collecting hie men around him, once more bade them follow him into the stable. When he returned to it, he felt annoyed at the inter- ruption that had ensued. Most certainly it would have the effect of allowing the highwaymen to get further away, not that this gave an very great uneasiness, for the idea he had formed in his own mind was that the highwaymen had eleverly con- structed some subterranean retreat to which they could betake themselves, and remain in security till all danger was over. The discovery of the trap-door, he felt, was a thing they had not calculated upon, so, bidding his men to be Be silent as possible, he commanded them to follow im. Several carried lighted links, and by the aid of these the nature of the place they were in was disclosed. In spite of his anger, and vexation, and hurry, Jack Marshall could not forbear from giving expression to the admiration he felt at what he saw. é OHAPTER DCCOXCIX. RETURNS TO THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOUR HIGHWAY- MEN. WE now return to the highwaymen and Maud, who, it will be remembered, we left in the secret passage. Without any delay or accident, they reached the inclined plane leading up to the door of the stable. As Tom King carried the light, he now stood aside and allowed Claude and Jack to pass him. With nimble fingers, they undid the fastenings, and raised the trap-door. ‘‘ Courage—courage, dear Maud!” said Dick to his trembling companion. ‘ Be of good heart, for while you are with me you are safe! Depend upon it, long before the officers can search the inn we shall be far away.” Maud was slightly reassured by these words, for she had too often been in situations of danger with Dick not to place some confidence in his powers. Moreover, she saw that his comrades, though rapid in their movements, appeared by no means discomposed. Dick pressed on eagerly, for he was anxious pxce more to place himself beside Black Bess. A long time had elapsed since he had seen her last, and he had gone through many vicissitudes. As soon, therefore, as the stable was gained, he released Maud’s hand, then hurried to the stall where Black Bess was standing. The intelligent animal recognised her master af once, as was evidenced by her actions. She neighed and pawed the ground. A keen sensation of pleasure shot through Dick Turpin’s heart wheu he perceived this manifestation of pleasure and recognition. “¢ Woa, lass‘ hecried. “ Quietlv—qufetly! Then you managed to get home safely after ail ? Well_—well, I suppose you are right by this time, and in readiness for a long gallop ?” Not forgetful of the injury his gallant mare had received, Dick new raised he> mane in order to inspect it. He was highly gratified to find that it had entirely healed, and there was little to fear in the future 9€ the consequences arising from it. | {n the meanwhile, the highwaymen had been busy caparisoning their steeds. ick, reminded of the flight of time and the necessity for immediate action, now followed their example, eom grown to like the place, and it would ever be endeared ~~ 4 " -