Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 293: 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. In her eagerness to leave the room, she shat- tered a couple of panes of glass, the clatter of | to the fires of his callous heart. 2995 Defeat and resistance only seemed to add fuel He was a man which brought Mary round the house, just as|of firm resolves, and when he had once set his she sped away across the garden, screaming | mind, he would go through with the work. loudly to her husband. Mary no sooner caught sight of Jack, as he, too, passed through the window, than she joined her cries to those of her mistress, and dashed away in the same direction. Grasper’s was a nature which would not suc- cumb to difficulties; indeed, the greater the obstacle, the more determined his purpose to surmount it. Had Ralph Grasper possessed the heart and Jack gave chase, and the maid, coming up,soul of a man, instead of that of a devil, he with the mistress, seized her by the arm, and} would have been an ornament, where he was clung frantically to her, and, in unison, they both | now a curse to society. shrieked aloud for help. In their terror they ran across the garden peds instead of keeping the walk, and just as they approached a large cucumber frame, both turned their terrified gaze behind them. Another shriek, louder than its predecessors, broke from their lips as they perceived Jack within a few yards of them, and, in their blind eagerness to escape, both mistress and maid ran full butt against the frame, staggered to regain - their balanze, lost it, and both fell headlong through the glass top, clutching frantically at each other. . = “Such a’smash of glass—such a chorus of shrieks, Jack never heard before ; and, feeling that the game he had played upon the old lady had been carried far enough, he first cast one clance on the two women as they rolled among the shattered glass and broken plants, and then, drawing his cloak around him, and pressing his hat over his brows, he glided quickly behind the hedge, and vaulted, unseen, over the paling, and, in another minute, was quickly strolling along the high road. CHAPTER C. AN OLD CHARACTER IN A NEW PART. WHEN Bill Jackson waited upon Ralph Grasper, with the welcome intelligence that he had dis- covered the whereabouts of Jane Slater, that - disreputable worthy made no mention whatever of the fact that the wife of the deceased clerk was residing with another female—one like her- self, who had suffered much persecution from unfeeling man. Had he done so, a strange mistake might possibly have been avoided. Having learned the exact. position of Holly Cottage, and obtained all the information he thought necessary, Mr. Grasper rewarded the dirty labours of Bill Jackson, and dismissed him. . Bill had expected further employment, but Grasper, fearful lest the man’s terror of Jack might bring our hero down upon him when least wished for, resolved to employ some one else in the little bit of business he had on hand. The merchant was not to be kept from the purpose of his heart by the chastisement he had received on more than one occasion from Spring- heeled Jack, he certainly was afraid of him,and knew that if he again fell into his clutches, it would go hard with himself, but he determined to risk all in again obtaining ‘possession of the poor, insulted, and broken-spirited woman. ee a a eo! As we have seen from the moment that his eyes fell upon the wife of his clerk, he had resolved to persecute her. He had done so and suffered greatly for it, but he was not deterred in his base purpose. So, when Bill Jackson left him, clinking the gold coins in the pocket of his corduroy breeches, and thinking of the glorious “drunk” he would have with his disreputable associates at the Pieeon Flyers, the merchant sat down calmly to think over and mature his plans. ‘“Humph!” he coughed. ‘‘ Let me see. Holly Cottage. Yes. I'll make a note of that. Pretty name for a decent dwelling. I know the locality well. It’s where I once thought of lending a speculating builder some money on the carcases of a few houses, but unfortunately for me the fellow got hold of a more tender-hearted mort- gagee, or J should have ruined him to a certainty. Well, Holly Cottage, where this Jane Slater is hidden, is out there, is it? Now, the best way to get her from it? I must not go rashly to work this time—no rash ventures—the speculation must be certain ; and then, where’s the goods to be consigned, that’s the next point. Not to Bill Jackson’s. Oh, no, that will never do. That confounded scamp of a Spring-heeled Jack will keep an eye on him. Tosend her toa foreign port won’t do. I can’t afford to let pleasure altogether interfere with business. <A | prolonged absence from home would be remarked —a few days at a time would scarcely be noticed. T have it! [ll take her to Brighton. Now, who can I get to assist me? That’s the thing, and the principal thing, too.” Grasper leaned his head on his hand, and puzzled his brain for a solution to his own question. ‘There are thousands,” he muttered, at length, ‘in this vast city, who would sell their souls for a guinea, and surely [ ought to have no difficulty in procuring an accomplice out of the vast num- ber whom want or crime has rendered callous to the sufferings of others or their own situation. Could I proclaim aloud my wishes, legions would answer to the call. To the just man, what a sad contemplation ; to the unprincipled, like myself, how gratifying is the thought, that thousands are as bad, if not worse, than myself. There are few men whose hearts are not naturally prone to evil, and the poor sin through want, the rich through their passions; and yet, with this knowledge of the world, I dare not cry aloud for the aid I require. Still, I must not suffer that to deter me from my purpose. Jane Slater must and shall be mine, even if I tear her from her concealment unaided!” He struck his clenched hand on the table as ebhooks=ecom