The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 5 — page 87: what you’re looking at

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

' miagiving began to creep into\be minds of both. - DT “4 Ne a eg A two beautiful doves of the earrior-broed. Oneof these doves the amazonian lady took forth from the cage, and in leas than a minuto tied the little scmp of paper with the silken cord under its wing. Sho then opened her hand, and the messenger- bird flow out of the window, insfantaneously disappearing in the obscurity of the night. Meanwhile, ip pursuance of another rapidly- whispered cémmand from her mistress, Rosa had fastuned tho two sheets of the bed together, had tied one extremity to the bed-post, which was near the casement. tbe a, enle “In two or three daysI shall be back egain, sal and sound. Don’t fear; nothing can be done fo you—and your cousin Jobn is unsuspected!" Havfoy whispered these words, Lady Besa lost not anvuther instant if passifg hers casement; and with wondrous agility gpd akill, ahe glided down the twisted sheets, co¢has with but a slight fall sho reached the ground in safety. To hasten to the stable—pnt the qgddle and | Wa || hours’ sleep—then aff by the firat trains in the morning—one bridle on the horse—a&d lead forth the nok animal, was now the work of but 9 goupla of minutes ; then yaulting on ite backs Lady Hea was borne away like an arrow shot from @ baw. In the meantime Rosa bad gone on talking it the room in the same atrain ag before, and bre cisely as if her mjptress. was still there, TF solicitors, who were out on the land Ae , a | to catch most of what the woman ytterad, atau for delicacy's aake they had not gnproashac to the door than the ‘narrowness ‘af. the lang rendered necessary. ‘that re bave desc from the moment Lad } with Rosa, until she al her noble ateed, baraly aac ) hour; and that was bo grdas. ang cxamine a wqnnd—wash it: it—and allow for taking ¢ garments that it was ne i change. At least such was the calgulation made relative to the lapga of minutes by tha two lawyerm Yet, towards the end of the interval nawed, @ feeling of uneasipbss and a sense of Not that they thought Lady Bess was too long in hor chamber; but those continuous outpourings of lamentations, ejaculations, and comments on the part of Rosa, added to to the din she had creatdil with the crockery-ware, struck them as being sus- picious : for it all looked as if the womay, were playing a part,—e part too which she was now ovordving. They were therefore just on the point saay of knooking at the door, snd insisting upon Bess coming forth, when they were struck withcon- | sternation on hearing the sudden trampling of the horse's feet as he was being led from the stable. “ By heaveb, we aro tricked ?” exclaimed Mar- low: and without ceremony be rushed ibto the bed-chamber. pH The open window and the rope of sheets which Rosa was just dragging in, told the tale. “Wretch !” oried Marlow, “‘you have alded your mistress’s escape! But you shall go to prison for her |” Oo | “Let her alone,” exclaimed Mr. Malton. “We will punish the guilty one yet:"—-and he rushed down the stairs, closely followed by his parther. “Why did you not stop her? Don't you see that she bas escaped?” cried Marlow, addressing himself fiercely to the coachman. "4 fr it of the | led wray on. baap of a es te On those Alsttis beyond 'Graveaand there stood a small rameare and estabit ‘known amongst the e THK MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. “ T saw come one, sir, gallop round from the back of the house aud bolt away fike a shot,” an- swered the coachman: “ but Low could I possibly stop her? I scarcely knew who it could be till she was out of sight: and then it was Shly sus- piciop, for she whisked by at such e rate.” | “ Prue !" cried Marlow ; “the window is at the back of She house—the stable also. Well, John, I was wrong to blame you. But now, what is to | be done ?” he Gemanded,. turniag to his partner. “ We shall be the laughing-stock of all London 4§ we let her escape us thus.” ; “ Besides,” added Mr. Malton, “it is more than eyer imperative that the outraged laws should be qatisfled.” a J " 4 But what isto be done?” again asked Mr. Merlow, more excited thag pefore. * Depend upon" it aha megne to get out of the qountry,” responded t] é juno fartner after a fow moments’ reflection. “ F tall you what we must do. We wilPgo gn ta yonr‘house, and snatch a few gf we So Dover end the, other to ence and Americe—theee are the thie deaporate woman |” > our courag," refurned Marlow. “T would not for a thousand guineas that she rpool. we | escaped us in the long run.” . The two lawyers then entered the carriage, || Wbleh immediately drove away to Mr. Marlow's maagalop, which Wes about » mile distants OHAPTER XVIII. | ERR MRSMRHGER-B IBD. public-house, in a somewhat lonely spot, though by th @ af the main roed. The landlord ¢! thig place, hh hore the- name of the Dancing Bear, was calle merely was he the brother of Solomon, but Israel was-of kindfad character and pursuits, — his public-house being the resort of all the desperate characters of the district, especially the smugglers belonging to the Thames and Medway. The Dancing Bear had long been the object of suspi- clon on the part of the local authorities; but so cunningly had Ierael managed matters, that he‘ had never done any overt act, which could be positively brougbt home to him. | ‘Yerael Patch was s widower, but had a grown- aghter living with him to superintend hia (shinent. She was a woman of about thirty, remazkakly ugly, and in every way of a obaracter Gtted.to ald her father in Ris money- making and nefarious pursuits, Her Christian name was Rehkecca; but she was. universally frequenters of the bonse by 4 up ds the diminutive of Becky. ae _ We must now observe that Israel Patch slept in s little room behind his bar on the ground- floor: but Becky slept in an attic quite on the top scene tiemmmmencreniemcnces a nf th as called Israel Pato, and wase younger brother : of the keeper of the boozing-ken in London. Not | of{he house. This attic had no flat ceiling to. separate it from tae sloping roof, but may be de- scribed ag béing covered only by the roof itseli— in plain.terms, it was just beneath tho tiles. On a flat portion of this roof there appeared a very ‘ & e @ LOAO© COLUM SS (CO)