Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

SPRING-HEEL D JACK: THE TERROR OF LONDON. Thus. warned. and threatened, and so be-| wildered as scarcely to know what to do or say, he gantetly suffered himself to be handcuffed. y this time Baker showed signs of recovery, and the attention of the officers was imme- diately centred upon him. ‘Oh! you’re coming to, are you?” said Dick. “ Mind what you are after, old chap, or yon ‘Il get another taste of our staves. I reckon I took the spring out of you that time.” “Oh!” groaned Baker, ** Pull him out by his legs, Bill,” said Dick. This order Bill stooped down to obey, but as he caught hold of Baker’s foot, that gentleman kicked out so fiercely, that, striking the officer in the pit of the stomach, for a monient com- pletely doubled him up, and caused him to drop the staff from his hand—a fortunate circum- stance for Baker, who thereby escaped a severe blow, which in his rage the officer would doubt- less have inflicted upon him. _ Dick came instantly to his brother officer’s aid, and seizing the leg of the still prostrate man, dragged him into the field. “Get up, will you?” he said; “ or shall I give you one that will keep you there till we fetch a stretcher for you ?” Releasing his hold of Baker’s leg, Dick seized his arm, and jerked him to his feet. * Are you going to murder me?” cried Baker, looking bewildered from one to the other. _“* Tt would serve you right if we did,” said Bill, grasping him by the shoulder, and shaking He violently. ‘* Here, Dick, slip the darbies on im.” Dick seized his hands, and the next moment nadie of the handcuffs broke the momentary ilence. Baker was so thunderstruck at finding him- self handcuffed, that he could only glare for several moments upon his manacled hands ; then dropping them despairingly, he turned to the _ officer, saying— ” “ What does all this mean ? ” “You'll find out time enough,” said the man who had him in custody. “ Dick, hit him on the head with your staff if he tries to give me the go-by.”’ ; Thus saying, the officer mounted the bars of the gate, still keeping a firm hold of the man’s arm, “But, policeman, there is some mistake—let me explain !” | “You can do that at the station.” ‘No, no,” said the other. “ For mercy’s sake, listen to us !” “Shut up!” “T tell you we’ve been robbed of our clothes by that confounded rascal, Spring-heeled Jack.” ** All very fine. Come on!” - “But don’t you see we are naked ?” The ofticers for the first time now became cognisant of the fact that their prisoners were habited only in their shirts and stockings. “‘ Blowed if they ain’t,” said one. _ This is a rum go,” said the other. “Tt is, indeed,” said Baker. ‘‘ There is some mistake. Myself and friend hearing an alarm raised that Spring-heeled Jack was about, deter- mined to try and effect his capture. We found 11 him in this field, but when we believed we had him secure he presented a pistol.at our heads, and threatened, if we did not strip ourselves, to blow our brains out.. There was no alternative ! SO we obeyed ; and then, before we could look round, the fellow sprang off with our things and disappeared.” ‘What do you think, Bill?” asked his brother officer. “‘ That it’s all a lie,” was thereply. “It won’t do. We ain't to be fiddled. We've got ’em, and we'll keep em. So move on, my fine fellows,” ‘Where to?” asked Baker. ‘The station-house, to be sure.” “Oh! no. Pray don’t take us there. are honest, respectable men.” | “To be sure you are,” sneered Dick. ** We are—upon my soul, we are!” cried the other. | Well, you can say all you’ve got to say at the station,” said Bill, | “You dare not take us there,” said Baker, plucking up a litile spirit. ‘‘ Tl have the coats off your backs if you attempt to take us through the streets in this state.” ‘“ We can’t have them off yours, can we?” said Bill. ‘*‘ Now, move on; and if you try any games with us, you'll repent it.” And heshook hisstaffmenacingly in Baker’s face. The unfortunate man looked at his companion in distress, heaved a deep sigh, suffered his head to fall on his breast, and moved slowly away from the gate down the road. Shivering with cold, smarting from the treat- ment of the officers, and the scratches they had received from the prickly hedge, the two unfor- tunate men and their captors had got about a quarter of a mile from the scene of their capture when a hurried footstep behind them caused all to turn, and Baker to utter a cry of joy, as his eyes rested on the form of a gentleman hurrying along towards them. “Mr. Bittern! Mr. Bittern!” he cried. “Oh! sir, you can prove I’m not Spring-heeled Jack! You can prove I’m a respectable man —a husband, and the father of a family!” As the words left the lips of Baker, the gentle- man addressed as Mr. Bittern arrived at his side. ‘“Why, what, in heaven’s name, does this mean!” cried the new comer, looking in surprise from one to the other of the party. “Means, sir? Means that we have been robbed and nearly murdered, and then taken for Spring-heeled Jack, and being taken like felons through the streets to jail.” : . ‘““'There’s some mistake here,” said Mr, Bittern. “Pray let me understand all this strange affair correctly.” Dick immediately put him in possession of the information he desired, and when he had c¢on- cluded, the gentleman said— “These persons are friends of mine. I have no wish to interfere with you in the execution of your duty, but if you keep them prisoners any longer you will have cause to repent it. I tell you I can vouch for their respectability, and © assure you that you are mistaken in supposing either of them to be the person you imagine.” ‘‘ Blowed if I don’t believe you,” said Dick, after a pause. We | JOO Comic Sn Ele)