Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

2 SPRING-HEEL’D JACK: THE TERROR OF LONDON. Then he took from his coat pocket a repulsive- looking mask, which he placed over his face, and a pair of gloves made of the hide of some animal, at the tips of the fingers of which were nails tapering to a point at the end and very long. Having drawn these over his hands, he took another bound upwards, and alighted on a small balcony before the windows of the first floor. Into the window he peered, but the darkness which reigned in the room, albeit the blinds were not drawn, prevented him examining the interior ; so he cast his eyes upwards once more. ‘1 must be careful not to miss my hold of the coping-stone,’ he muttered, “or I may get a fall that will break my bones.” Throwing his cloak back, so as to leave him free liberty of his arms, he stood upon the very aoe of the balcony, took one bound upwards, and caught at the coping-stone with his gloved hands. For a moment, and a moment only, he hung suspended thus, then drew himself up till his body rested on the ledge. Rolling his legs quietly over into the gutter just under the window, he sat upon the stone and listened. A woman’s tones came in pleading accents to his ears, but in such a low and tremulous voice did she speak, that he was unable to hear a word. He shifted his position a little, and endeavoured to peer into the room through the edge of the blind. On one side it lay so close to the frame that ke could not discover a chink of the breadth of a pin ; on the other he could only gaze upon the soiled paper of the side wall of the room. In Be ae he placed his ear to the window and strove once more to catch the sounds which emanated from within. Suddenly, the tones of a man’s voice broke upon his ears. They were harsh and discordant. “Your choice?” was all that he said, but there was such deep meaning in the tones that the disguised figure at the window fairly started. “There’s foul play going on in there,” he muttered. “I’m sure of it. I thought so from the attitudes of the shadow when I stood in the street. Well, I may be able to do a good turn in part payment for the many bad ones I’ve had ahandin. Confound that blind! I wish there was a hole in it, that I might see into the room,” Then drawing the glove from his right hand he doubled his fist and softly drew the back of it down the glass, and a slight scratching sound was produced. So slight, however, that it was almost imper- . ceptible. This he repeated two or three times, then holding his left hand under the right, a square piece of glass fell upon the glove. “ I thought my ring would do that nicely,’ he muttered, as he laid the glass upon the copine- stone at his side. The voice of the woman now came more clearly to his ears, “Oh! sir, have pity on me, have pity, for heaven’s sake,’’ she said, still in those imploring accents which had before riveted the attention ——— C—O tie el ee ee eee ef the strange figure on the outside of the window. “There's something wrong going on here,” murmured the cloaked figure, and I must see as well as hear. | He took a penknife from his pocket, and open- ing it, he thrust the point of the small blade through the hole in the window into the blind, and then swiftly drawing it downwards inflicted a long rent therein. The action of the wind rushing through the square hole widened the slit, and he could see into the room. At the opposite side of the apartment was a bed, the curtains of which’were tied round the ornamental posts, a short distance from it was a small toilet table, and between the bed and this sat a man about fifty years of age, holding in his hand a slip of paper. On the opposite side of the table, near to the © window, stood a young female, apparently about five-and-twenty years of age, poorly, but neatly dressed. Aer face was pale as that of a corpse, her eyes red, and swollen-with weeping—the dark lashes fringed with tears. Her hands were clasped supplicatingly together, and her whole air was dejected and sorrowful. For an instant the figure at the window took in all that was going on in the apartment, and he ground his teeth together as he drew on his clove, and adjusted his mask more tightly to his face. | “You are obstinate,” said the man, addressing the woman, who stood trembling before him— ~ ‘foolishly obstinate—you see this cheque.” He held up the paper which he had in his grasp. “T do, Ido!” sobbed the woman. “Tt is drawn on the bank, my name, my sig- nature forged, and by your husband—-transpor- tation is the penalty of the crime—transporta- tion, do you hear, if I appear against him ?” “Oh! sir, but you will not, your heart is not all stone, you will have mercy, mercy on him, on me!” cried the young woman, raising her clasped hands,then dropping them withadeep sigh. “Tt was because I wished to do,” said the man, looking hard in her face, “‘ that I requested you to come to me to-night. Iam willing to have mercy on him, more willing than you are.” “Oh! no! no!” cried the woman. “Oh! yes!” saidthe man. ‘* Here isthat which will tear him from you—send him across the seas with the brand of traitor upon him—to associate and work with men of the most base and degraded passions; this will blast his repu- tation, consign him to a gaol—the hulks; make his wife a thing at which the finger of scorn is pointed. Will you see him dragged from you to infamy and disgrace ? Will you make yourself a thing of pity, of contempt, when by that little word yes, you may gain possession of this paper, and defy the law to touch him?” “Oh! God!” exclaimed the woman, “ what, what shall I do?” “What?” said the man, and his grey eyes twinkled as he spoke ; ‘‘ what would a sensible woman do, but consent ?”’ ‘But the shame, the disgrace, the injury to the man I have sworn to love!” | 7 s€OmMmicdoOoKS=Gco ._— ‘ore, ee og ail tes ie f a | — Sl s =