Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 206: what you’re looking at

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

ee 20) + “ee, The contencs.presented a clear unbroken sn white granular material. Levee looked at it for some time in silence, but the pro- eceding did not tend to enlighter him in the least. " | The manner, however, in which he gazed at it was really most anusing to see. ‘ “IT sippose it’s'all right,’ le said; “What a fool 1 must he to go frightening myself about nothing. Johnny’s all right. I suppose he didu’t want the trouble of open- ing the blessed thing hisself. I should hke to know what it is that is'in %. However, that’s no concern of mine.” - Little ard Levee think that Wild was fully under the impression that he had laid a snare for his destruction. When the thief-taker left his house he had carried out the intention which he had expressed of going to Giltspur-street. Crossing over the way, he turned round the corner, and made his way to the eating-house which we have before had occasion to mention, and where Jonathan usually took his meals. A grin of hideour satisfaction expanded his features as he gloated over tke fate tu which he had doomed his janizary, for somehow or auother Wild felt as certain that that box wus intended to be his destruction as he was of his own existence. With great gusto he despatched a hearty meal, washed down by plentiful lbations of brandy, for of late he had eee to drink a still greater quantity of this fiery stimu- ant. Then his impatience rose to such a height, that he found himself unable to any longer stay away from his house and the sight which he fully expected to see there. Rising, then, from his seat, he retraced his steps. On reaching the door of his house, he drew forth his master key, and inserting it in the lock shot back the bolt and entered. He fully expected to witness some scene of tumult, but the quiet appearance of the hall gave no token of any- thing of the kind. =~ All was still—unusunally still—be thought. He did not pause for more than a moment, though. Striding across the hall, be in half-a-dozen steps reached the office door. He listened here, but no sound whatever came from the interior. With the feeling in his mind that he had allowed his fears to get the better of him inereasing every moment, 4 and the conviction that he had made some egregious blun- _ der, he opened the door. As he had more than half expected, the chamber was quite vacant; for when Levee had opened the box in the manner we have described, and spent some time in fruit- less conjecture, he had placed it upon Jonathan’s desk, and betaken himself to his own quarters, there to medi- tate upon the mysterious conduct of his master, and en- deavour toarrive at some sort of a conclusion respecting it. Jonathan’ felt that he had acted in a very ridiculous manner. No harm had resulted from the opening of the box. Perhaps it contained something of great and secret im- portance. If it did, he had, by his own groundless fears, placed thet knowledge in the possession of another. In no enviable frame of mind, he entered his office and closed the door. The key was in the lock on the inner side, so he fase tened himself in, determining not to be disturbed. _ Then going up to this desk, he saw the box lying upou it, and presenting the appearance we have described. His surprise may be imagined, and his astonishment rface of some SO. bel however, the coutents had not been tampered with. He approached, and not without some misgiving, took up some of the whitish powder between his finger and thumb. ‘“‘ What is it?” he asked, snappishly. “It looks like chalk pounded up. That’s what it is, too, I’ll be bound.” He poked aoout with bis finger in the box, and a closer examination showed him that he was quite right in his supposition as to its character. _But what on*earth could any one mean by sending xn a box of:chalk, and taking such pains as they mani- o | | a ee rc -.. UESKIN: A ROMANCE. festly did to pack it, for had not Mr. Glucks stated that it was washed ashore by the tide, and yet the powder wis perfectly dry, and free even from the least trace of dampness. ~ CHAPTER CXULl. JONATHAN WILD 13 BOTH STARTLED AND GRATIFIED BY THE INTELLIGENCE WHICH THE MYSTERIOUS BOX CONe- VEYS TO HIM. Assurepiy has Jonathan Wild not yet fathomed the mys- tery of this singular box, and such was his own im- pression. But, in spite of himself, he could not banish the notion pie his mind that danger lurked in it in some fashion or other. Going through the hitle door in the wooden railings, by which his office was divided into two portions, he once more seated himself on the stool. The box was then within reach of his hand. Determining to shriuk no longer from ascertaining what the inside contained, he suddenly, yet gingerly, took hold of it, and tilted it over on to its side. Of course, when this was done, the powder ran out. An exclamation came from Jonathan’s lips. Just peeping through the white chalky mass was a fragment of paper. ‘*A communication,” he cried. ‘‘ What a strange cir- cumstance! What can it be, I wonder?” He turned the box upside down as he spoke. The powdered chalk slid down the slant of his desk. Then there remained fully revealed to him a piece of pmnling paper, folded into the shape and semblance of a etter. In the curiosity he felt to know what this letter con- ed: he forgot all his recent alarm, and took hold of 1%. The superscription was as follows :— Private. MR. JONATHAN WILD. The handwriting was of a very ordinary kind, and looked as though the person who had written it was used to having something larger in bis fingers than a pen. Jonathan slowly unfolded this epistle. It was not secured in any way; probably the writer considered that the manner 1n which he had placed it in the box made it unnecessary. When the sheet was fully outspread before him, and the first words met bis eye, one of those awful roars, to which a thief-taker at times gave utterance, burst from his ps. Then he continued reading with avidity. We will place the document before the reader in its precise words. It commenced thus :-~ “Mr. Wild,— ‘‘ Respected Sir,—-This comes from George Hawkins, and you will, I take it, be much surprised at receiving a letter from me in this fashion, but I couldn’t see no other way as I could send it to you. “Of course you will remember the suspicions which I communicated to you about Colonel Thorne, who you fancied must be a highwayman on his own account, namely, that he and Captain Howlet, the pirate, was one and the same person, hich suspicion is no longer—such being the truth. : ‘‘When we parted, which was, as you know, several mouths ago, I said I would try to find out, by joining the pirates. Well, after a great deal of trouble, I got to bs admitted a member of the band, the particulars of which, being toolong, and not having no convenience for writing, I can’t set down. bytes “J want to tell you what I know in a few words, though whether I shall be able to send yourthe letter is more than I can tell, having already written two, but have not been able to get out of the cave where the pirates all live which is in the rock as: Colonel Thorne’s house, calle ‘The Larches,”’ is built on. . ‘“‘T have been a long while finding: out which would be the best way for you to make a successful attack upon | them, and at last I have found out, and you may rely ee ee enema COIN (C VOC | ,) S