Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 162: what you’re looking at

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ek ey Sey rS 169 must be conceded, bnt, at the same time, it is necessary to bear in view the gigantic proportions which this evil had assumed. These men were duly executed, and then all felt that ecining would be at an end, in consequence of which Jonathan rose to a still greater height than ever he had dreamed of. And so, while things were prospering so well with the villainous thief-taker, those three persons in whom we feel so deep an interest were sinking into deeper and deeper trouble. But surely the day will shortly come when— The wronged shal} be righted, No wrong unrequited. For the coming of that day, however, we must wait in patience. At present, darkness enshrouds the horizon, through which not the faintest glimmering of light is per- ceptible. hese matters occupied uearly the whole of Jonathan’s attention, when he would fain have directed it in a totally different channel; but he felt the opportunity was too favourable to be lost. Then the reader of this narrative will doubtless be able to account for the manner in which he spent his time up to that moment when, on returning to his domicil, he had been seriously wounded by some one in the garb of a gen- tleman, and whose face was perfectly unknown to him. CHAPTER CX. JONATHAN UNEXPECTEDLY FINDS THE CLUE TO THE MYSTERIOUS EVENTS WHICH SO PUZZLED HIM. Ir will not be forgotten that Blneskin gave the thief- taker such a thrust with his sword that the weapon passed completely through his breast near the shoulder, and ioned him to the front door, against which he had been eaning. ) Then Steggs, seeing his old foe so helpless, and unable td defend himself, had struck hima violent blow in the face with his fist, which rendered him insensible. How Blueskin then withdrew his sword, and darted out into the street, followed by his two companions, we have already related. Jonathan Wild fell down on the floor of his own hall hike a corpse. The janizaries who happened to be in the house, hear- ing his summons, and other sounds indicative that all was not going on just as it should, had hastened to the scene of action. But they were in the upper portion of the house, and so rapid was Blueskin in all his movements, that, when they ‘descended, they saw nothing but the open door, and Jona- than and Quilt Arnold lying as though dead npon tlie floor. Their immediate and most natural impulse, therefore, wag to surround their leader. He was bleeding profusely, and showed no signs of vitality. Quilt Arnold, however, was rapidly recovering himself, and by the time he was unbound was well enough to be able to give them some idea of what had happened. Thereupon, one or two ran to the door and listened, but all was quite silent. To attempt a pursuit would be folly. And so they turned the whole of their attention to Jonathan. In course of a little time, and under judicious treat- ment, he came to himself. Of the horrible pain he suffered, and the still more hor- rible cursee which he uttered, it is not our intention to say a word. Let it suince that the wound turned out not to be so serious a one as it Jooked. It had not touched any vital part, nor did it interfere in any way with his breathing or moving. » His iron constitution quickly enabled him to triumph | over it, and in less time than any one would have believed ‘possible, he was about as usual. But his temper, never by any chance a very amiable one, was by no means improved by this little incident, and he had one especial cause for vexation. It was his wish to appear to his men to be invincible, end fora long time he had preserved the character, but he BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE. Wal kOe ey had met with several reverses lately, which tended to very seriously damage this equivocal reputation. This was the feeling, then, that made his mind rise superior to the ills of his body, and the instant he was able to move he did so, altogether ignoring the advice of his medical attendant upon the subject. The first thing he learned was that the mysterious per- sonage he had encountered had made a burglarious attack upon his cells, and released the two prisoners who were confined there. But although this troubled him much, there was some- thing that troubled him still more. Who could this unknown individual be who had success- fully performed the hazardous exploit, and what was his motive for doing it. He was perfectly bewildered. He could think of nothing. That the richly-attired stranger was no other than his old lieutenant and associate, Blueskin, never for one moment entered his mind; in fact, he was about as con- fident that he had given him his death wound as he was of anything. Further thought only seemed still further to perplex him, and so at last he had to give it up in despair. He was compelled to do this by the other matters that | were pressing upon him and requiring his immediate attention. There was Edgworth Bess. Jack Sheppard. Lord Donmull. Of the first he could obtain no intelligence at all. Of the second, he learned that he had been seen at Johnson’s, in Drury-lane, and that he had in some mys- terious manner managed to elude recapture. He instantly determined to proceed to the ** Black Lion” himself. He felt certain he was concealed somewhere on the premises, and trusted to his own acuteness to un- kennel him. ; But when he reached it, it was just after Jack and Blueskin had departed upon their highway expedition. Of course, nota word was said to him about it by the landlord, who was the only person in the secret of their having left, and of course no opposition was made to Wild’s ransacking the house. But Johnson’s easy manner alone was almost enough to convince Wild that the prey he sought was secure, but just for satisfaction he looked closely about him. The hiding-place in the stairs, however, was not dis- covered by him. It would require a closer examination than that which he upon this occasion made to detect it. Eight men had accompanied him upon this little expe- dition, and when the search was over, he took the pre- caution of leaving three behind him to act as sentinels. On reaching the street he looked carefully about Lim, but no signs of those he sought could he see. He stood for a moment undecided how to act. Ife still clung to the idea that Jack had not left the ueighbourhood. While thus in thought, he felt a slight touch upon his arm. Looking round to see who it was, he perceived one of those miserable-looking specimens ot humanity which are now and then to be seen hanging about public-houses. His clothes hung about him in tattered rags. His feet were shoeless. His eyes bleared and bloodshot. His countenance full of furrows, in every one of which was an accumulation of dirt. “Mr. Wild, Mr. Wild,” he said, in hoarse, croaking, yet cringing accents, ‘s Ya—ah 1”? Mr. Wild!” ** Be off.” ‘*T have something to tell you, Mr. Wild.” ‘Ha! What is it? Speak! Tell me,” said Jonathan, suddenly turning round, and clutching the wretched being by the arm. Don’t hurt me, Mr. Wild, and I will tell you.” “* Be quick, then.” ‘You will give me something to drink if the news is worth anything to yon P”’ “Curse you! yes. Let me hear what you:know.” ‘‘You didn’t notice me in the ‘ Black Lion,’ did you? Ab! there’s many an hour I’ve spent there.” 5} MICLOOOKS:CO (GO) C