Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 156: what you’re looking at

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

_ shield me from observation.”’ appeared to come from a neighbouring chimney, ~ and then streaks of burnished sold spread over | ceiving the little fellow rolling on the floor, at | 158 | SPRING-HEEL’D JACK: THE TERROR OF LONDON. = 2 Here he paused and listened. later hé would make his, way into the road, when, _ } In a few moments there was a loud knocking,| the could be easily chjpturea. 1 /;-1 beot aao7g odd de i” and Jack knew that the patrol was arousing the, The-hour flew by, however, and J ack still, ept.. | inmatés of the house, in order to obtain admis-|his position, gazing with admiration upon the, | sion to the grounds. | scene before him, or turning a smilinglook down 7 ‘¢T musn’t stop here,” said Jack, “* and where | upon the two horsemen as they conversed to- | to go puzzles me, for the whole neighbourhood | gether in the street below. > te will be aroused ina few minutes, In the road| At length the clock of a distant steeple chimed I shall stand little chance against the horse, and|the half-hour after five, and the; patrol rode in these gardens I am pretty sure to be discovered. | slow away. * srottint 1) Lhaveit. The roof, if there’s a means of reach-| Waiting a short time, Jack was about tode- | ing it. The day will soon break, and a view of| scend, but resolving to take one more look upon. the rising sun from an eminence is worth séeing.| the gdérgeous’ scene; he sprang ‘to the top ofa : Oh! there’s a foothold there, and so I shall| high chimney-pot,and> seanned the eastern ho- | manage it easy enough, and my dark cloak willrizon. A scratching kind! of sound, “whi HY Without more ado, Jack clambered wp of tojcaused him to gaze towards it, and the next a the roof of the outhouse, and thence on +0 a|moment a brush protruded from a pot before | window-sill. Then grasping at a water-pipe, he; him. Ingl, bofsor-poriea a ae drew himself up by its aid, till he reached the| “A sweep!” he said; “I must Vacate my roof, and laying himself flat down upon the tiles, | post, or I shall be blinded with soot.” 57 rested from the exertions he had made to reach} He was about to leap: dowm to the roof, when it, and listened for any further'sounds that might |the head and shoulders of a young sweep pro- . come to his ears. truded from the chimney-pot, and Jack, ever | | anxious for fufh, slipped on his mask, drew him- | | self up to his full height, and extended Iiis arms | CHAPTER LV. - - ' widely. "frat dea a mts (oy rea 2 The lad turned, and his gaze falling upon the ab ih arnt aca BA ERE aR SEM TM tall, ghostly figure and hideous face of our hero, Oe ast ME -|he uttered aloud cry of terror, and, losing all Stowty broke the morning—slowly from the | Power, slipped back down the chimney, never east the licht clouds driffted, chasing the dark | stopping in his course till he reached the room | vapours of night, which rolled on before the| below, on the floor of which he rolled; screaming | — coming sun. ~ fand bellowii «vy all the force of his lungs. | The feathered songsters, one by one, awdke,| ‘The devil! the devil! the devils) anivsmn |e and, lifting their head from beneath their wing, His voice not only aroused the acrvanbioessaig re carolled forth their hymn of praise ‘for the|‘work, who had risen to admit him, but alsoher | coming day. . {master and mistress, aid a young lady who re- | The lark rose from the grass, warbling its|joiced in the title of mistress’s darter.) Ae wild music as it took its heavenward flight: the| The servant Mary, who at the time was pre- rook, with flapping wings and discordant noise, | paring breakfast, rushed hurriedly into the room | started from its nest to seek the morning meal ;|to learn the cause of the disturbance, and per-" | — the sky, and the bright orb of day threw its re- }once came to the conclusion that he was in a fit: t fulgent light over the earth. The first thing she did was to scream, the se=. | — Slumbering nature awoke. cond to shriek, and thé thirdt6 rush like mad q Then streaks of smoke rose towards the clouds, |into the kitchen, where she nearly overturned): | the hum of voices broke upon the air, and the] thé table and upset the Gofiée-pot. > 9 quick tread of the artisan was heard on his way Brought a little to her senses by this SASS me ) to toil, and still Jack stood upon the housetop, she hurried to the sink, and quickly filled a large | gazing towards the east, watching the changing | jug with water. lecert [ ssocqeqra I lis Vee ae hues of the clouds, and almost lost in rapture at| With this she hurried back to the apartment the magnificent sight before him. where the puny sweep was. - _ rari 1. Those who have never stood on An eminence! The boy had Scrambled to his fest, but the and watched the rising sun have lost a treat | look of fright still remained on his features: rp indeed, and he whose heart could not be warmed! The moment Mary appeared in the doorway | by its beauties must be cold indeed. ~ lhe burst forth with the ety which’ had befo ; The patrol, unable to discover our hero in the alarmed hér= f drwy a ld, : garden, had gone on his way, but when Jack had| ‘The devil! 6h: the deval'" tosact of bsbioraay made up his mind to abscond and seek to gét out| “Poor fellow!” Shid Mary, seizing the jug Oy . of the locality, he perceived him returning in| the handle, ‘‘so young, and such a, suffere a company with another mounted officer, and| And then she fling the contents of the jug fair — | therefore concluded that it were better td re-|in his face, and darted badk, calling loudly on | main where he was for the present. her master anid mistress. | cat TT oe Satisfied that he was still about, the patrol| The shock to his systém caused OF eae 3 kept a sharp look-out in all directions, but made | water added to his terror, and the young Sweep — no attempt to arouse the inhabitants. howled and screamed furiously, causing the maid They evidently had no suspicidn of his fie | to pull to the door of the apartment; ‘and add to) whereabouts. They believed he was secreted} the confusion by loud eriés of Pet el somewhere in the garden, and that sooner or] ‘“ Master!— Missus!— Miss Jane !—oh, do — — - — -— =a. © - —_—