Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 232: what you’re looking at

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

1 TT ema Sa a ~ -~—— oor oS eee en eS ed 934 SPRING-HEEL’D JACK : THE TERROR OF LONDON. ~ And, in his indignation, he again spurned the merchant’s body with his foot, hurling it across the room to the door. “Mercy ! — help ! — mercy! ” affrighted man. “What's the matter—what’s the matter?” cried the voice of Bill on the stairs. ‘“Oh ! there’s murder, Bill; he’s killing the gal! Iknow’d some harm would come of this,”’ exclaimed the wife, as she followed her husband up the stairs. The noise of the broken door had first alarmed them ; but Bill, believing it to have been caused by a struggle between Grasper and the imbecile, would not permit his wife to go upstairs, nor yet go himself; but as other sounds succeeded, he himself became alarmed, and hurried from the room, followed by his wife, to learn the cause of the disturbance. “Oh! come and help me!—come and help me!” cried the merchant. ‘‘?’m being mur- dered! For God’s sake, come! ”’ By the time the words were out of his mouth, he had with difficulty struggled to his feet, and Bill and his trembling wife reached the landing. ‘““Who’s a murdering you?” asked Bill. “ What! can’t you tackle that sirl ?”’ The merchant pointed into the room, and Bill started, as he perceived, for the first time, the cloaked figure of Jack, then uttered a howl of terror as our hero turned, and he caught sight of the mask which concealed his features, and, turning to flee, the cowardly bully ran against his wife, hurling her to the ground, and knock- ing the candle from her grasp, which was instantly extinguished. At any other time Jack would have burst out into a loud laugh, but his heart was too full of indignation to permit him to do so now; and, springing out upon the landing, he grasped with one hand at Bill as he rose, and with the other he hurled Grasper back into the room. “Oh! it’s the devilcome forme! The devil! the devil!” cried Bill, in tones of the most abject terror. ‘‘ Oh! Poll! saveme! saveme!” And the rascal shook like a feather in the wind, as he thus appealed for suecour to his ill-used and insulted wife. Mrs. Jackson, however, rose to her feet, and hurried down the stairs, screaming as loudly as she could scream, and wringing her hands in utter dismay. “Oh! my Bill!—my Bill!” she cried. ‘What shall Ido? Oh! my Bill—my Bill!” Jack could not help pitying the woman's grief, and thinking how ill her husband deserved her. ‘“Is this,’ said Jack, shaking him by the shoulder, “how you keep your word — your promise to me, by suffering a callous-hearted scoundrel to bring hither, for a base and wicked purpose, a wretch whom sorrow and misfortune has deprived of reason.”’ “Forgive me! oh! forgive me!” gasped Bill, falling on his knees and clasping his hands. ‘Oh! pray do forgive me, and I'll never do wrong any more.” ‘Good is not in your nature,” said Jack. “Yes, it is,” quickly gasped Bill. “Oh! do give me another chance, do!—do! good Mr. Devil; do!—do!” | eried the — -——_- — And the rutiian, overpowered by his fears, caressed the feet cf our hero. “Devil!” said Grasper, who began to gather courage at the presence of a third party. “It’s Spring-heeled Jack, for whose capture a reward is offered.” Then, dashing past Jack on to the landing, he cried, ‘“Send for the police! Arouse your neighbours ! Capture him, and put gold in your pockets. He’s Spring-heeled Jack!” Bill leaped to his feet with a ery of joy, for a weight had been removed from his heart. Oh, such a weight ! And so did Jane leap to her feet, as his name fell upon her ears. She sprang up from her crouching position, with the light of reason once more beaming in her eye. ‘“‘Spring-heeled Jack!” she cried. “Oh, God! my preserver! Ha! ha! ha!’ and with a wild laugh she flung herself upon his bosom. The left arm of our hero encircled her form, as with his right hand he drew from his bosom a pistol, exclaiming— “The first that moves I will lay dead at my feet! Bill Jackson, call your wife here. But stir not, or you are a dead man. Ralph Grasper, my capture is not so easy as you imagine. Utter one sound more, to bring you assistance, and that sound is your last. Call your wife—she has nothing to fear from me, for I have not yet fallen so low as to harm or insult a woman.” The attitude, the tones of Jack, convinced both, Grasper and Bill that it would be unsafe to play with him, and the former remained silent, while the latter called out— : “Poll! Poll! come up here. It ain’t the devil. Come up here, I say, directly, or it’llt the worst for us all. Do you hear, Poll? Con up stairs, and hold your frightened jaw.” Tremblingly, the woman’ obeyed, and- slow she made her way up to the little landing. But there she paused, as if fearful to move another step. “Come hither, my good woman,”’ said Jack. | “You have nothing to fear, for I know ‘that you have done all*you could to persuade your rascally husband not to permit this villain to }seek to outrage this poor creature.’ : ae Bill began to tremble again, and ‘the im- pression that Jack must be indeed the devil once more took possession of his breast. _ If he was not, how did he know what ‘his wife had done—how did he know the girl was there ? 9s - - He was not quite sure syet that he rwould be permitted to exist any longer on the earth he disgraced. ts | Still, he thought the best thing he could do to shield himself would be to obey implicitly the ~ orders of the strange being, and he said— | “Why don’t you do as the gentleman asked you? Goin.’ The woman, shaking in every limb, and pale as a corpse, tottered into the room. | “Take this poor creature,” he said, ‘‘ she has' fainted, and do your best to revive her. Grasper,’ he added, turning to that worthy, who stood gnawing his nether lip, ‘‘ 1 intend: to take her away from here. I warned you to be- ware how you sought to annoy or insult her | Ralph VJOOKS:- ECO