Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 205: what you’re looking at

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

BLUESKIN : = Glucks by the heels, and began to drag him ont into the passage. Jonathan looked on in grim silence. ame soon as Quilt had fairly disappeared with him, he aid— ‘ Now for Levee! Stopa bit; I won't arouse his sus- picions if I can helpit. Let him fall into the suare with lis eyes shut. I wonder whether [ dare venture to touch the box. That fool carried it withoat being hurt. PU risk it, for I should not ike him to see the label; he might suspect something.” With manifest uneasiness and apprehension, Jonathan went to his desk, and rescated himself upon his stool. There lay the bos, witb the inscription staring him in the face. Then he, for the first time, noticed that the address was painted on the lid of the box itself, with white paint. To remove it, therefore, would be difficult. He looked at it for a moment in silence. “Sha’nt touch it,” he said, at lenzth. ‘Too much risk. Let bim make what he can of it. Tl call him!” He raised his cudgel as he spoke, and banged it fariously upon the desk. Quilt Arnold, who had disposed of Mr. Glucks in the manner commanded by his master, re-appeared. ** Where’s Levee ?”’ Up stairs, Mr. Wild.” “Call him! IJ want him.” “Yes, Mr. Wild. Quilt vanished. Jonathan resumed his old favourite attitude. But his reflections, whatever they were, did not con- tinue long, for some one tapped, in a very faint manner, upon the panel of the door. ‘Come in!” roared Jonathan, at the very top of his voice. “Come in! and don’t stand waiting there; I want you. So. CHAPTER CXL. THE CONTENTS OF TILE MYSTERIOUS BOX PROVE TO BE VERY DIFFERENT TO WHAT JONATIAN WILD EXPECTED. WitTH a emile on his lips and a tremble in his heart, Levee sidled into Wild’s office. Since tle oceasion of which we spoke, he had been careful to keep as mucb as possible out of the way of the thief-taker, in the hopes that what he had said would be forgotten. And now, when he entered, he half hoped that go de- eirable a thing had taken place. It was the first time for some days that he had been face to face with bis master. He looked up, therefore, in a wistful sort of a manner, to see what kind of expression it wore. But he could gather nothing from the scrutiny. Jonathan looked much the same as usual. That is to say—bideous in the extreme. Twitching his wig in that peculiar way for which he was sO remarkable, he said— “* Levee!’ ** Yes, if you please, Mr. Wild. What did you please to want P”’ Jonathan grinned. Take that box,” he said, abruptly. He pointed to it as he spoke. Thinking of nothing but how he had best conciliate his master, Levee approached the desk, and stretching Le arm over the railing, took the box as he had been rT “TIT am = Levee!” cried Wild, eut.” ‘¢ Yes, sir.’ “T shan’t ie more than half-an-hour, and while 1 am vone, I—] ”—— “What, Mr. Wild?” “T want you to open that box.” ‘* Certainly, Mr. Wild.” “You see the lid is fastened down, and I fancy you will have some trouble in raising it.” “Pll do it, Mr. Wild,” replied Levee, elated at the good feeling Jonathan displayed towards him, and con- gratulating himself that the past had been forgotten. “You bad better do it in here, Levee, and take care of “and am going a Se A ROMANCE. the contents. Don’t let any one know what ven are abont. 1 shall be back in half-an-hour.” Jonathan Wild put on his hat. He got down off his stool. ae hideous physioguomy was distorted by a diabolical e Take care of the box, Levee, till I come back. I am ale dae going out into Giltspur-street. Good duy, Levee 00 Jonatliaen Wild walked out. He closed the door bebiud him. For a moment, Levee stood quite still, looking at the wood-work which hid his master from lits sight. He rubbed his head with a puzzled air. {n his anxiety to disarm suspicion, Wild had overshot the mark. Levee suspected something more was in what had juet taken place than he had seen. “T’m blest if I can make this out,” he ejaculated, rubbing his bead more furiously than ever, as if by so doing be could assist his thoughts. Tle still held the box in his band. WT glanced down at it. rad Len, for the first time, he noticed the writing on the Reading was an accomplishment which he possessed in only a very partial degree, and he was a long time spelling the words out. At last he managed the first line. ** Take—this—box—immediately—to—’——= The second and two following ones did not give him much trouble, Mr, Jonathan Wild, Newgate-street, London.” Then he spelt out the last, and arrived at the true sense of the w hole. ** And be will reward you for your trouble.” Now this by no means served to decrcaso Mr. Levee’s perplexity. lijeed, it had a contrary effect. He looked at the bos with an air of the greatest possible mistrust. ** Johnny’s playing some decp game,” he said, at length. “IT am sure of it, but what it is I cannot make out. Curse the box! ‘What shall I dowith it? I wonder nor what’s inside, and why he didn’t open it himself.’ He shvok it up and dk we as le spoke, but no sonnd was produced that enabled him to form a notion of the nature of the contents. “There’s something 1n it, I can tell by the weight; but it don’t shake about at all. Curse the box, I say. If I only knew what old Jonathan was at, I shouldu’t care. What made him run out and leave me like this? I don’t feel at all comfortable, that I don’t. Llowever, here goes. I’ll have the lid off, and risk it, for if Jonathan was to come back before I had opened it, the house wouldn’t hold him.” With these words on his lips, Levee put the box under his arm, and commenccd searching his pockets. In a minute or so, from among a multitude of other things, he produced a peculiar house-breaking :mplement, then very much in use, which was shaped bke a long slender chisel. This he applied to the junction of the lid with the box itself, and the crackling sound which immediately ensued, testified to the efficacy of the instrument. Little by httle, he forced away the lid, but the wood of which it was composed was hard, and ‘it had been very securely fastened down. But 1t yielded before the pressure he applied to it. As soon as ever he was able, Levee, whose curiosity waa exated to the utmost pitch, endeavoured to obtain a glimpse of the contents. It was something white, almost like flour. The box seemed quite filled with it, and it was pressed in hard, More puzzled than before, Levee ripped off the re- mainder of the lid. The box was harmless enough, that was quite clea | and, after all, it looked as though Jonathan’s apprehen- gions were quite unfounded. 203 (SO) (SO) >