Jack and His Seven Foes — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

JACK AND HIS SEVEN ‘and, like the others, firing his revolver at random. In fact, they were allalarmed. They had not anticipated the arrival of a foe, and could not see him when he came. They could not measure his strength, nor reckon upon what he might do. Therefore their fear @ uided them, and they fled, blundering about and seatter- ing in every direction. There were scarcely two who kept together. ‘The panic was complete. But after a while the firing ceased, mainly owing to all the barrels being emptied ; then some of the cooler heads began to wonder what they had run away for, and the opinion they enter- tained of themselves was far from com- phmentary. “We are a set of fools,” the Swageerer ; together ?”’ He asked the question, and his con- science gave him the answer. They did not keep together because they were cowards at heart. He stood alone as far as he could see. Ii any were near him they were hidden by the fall, and their footsteps muttled by the snow. The idea of shouting to see if any were near he abandoned as being risky. He had recognised Jack’s voice, and Jack might recognise him. If he did, the result might be disastrous to the Swageerer. “ No, I won’t shout,” he said, “ but walk about until I meet somebody.” He walked to and fro for some time, and neither heard nor saw anything of his friends, but finally he got into “the neighbourhood, and heard ehe Sneezer praying for mercy. He was not near enough to catch his words, and the fact of the tone being supplicati ing did — trouble him. The Sneezer always spoke with more or less of a whine. In a few minutes the noise ceased, and that was especially aggrayating, as the Swaggerer had got into this neighbour- hood, ‘and was rejoicing at the prospect of a companion, cowardly though he ight be. aa . “Confound it!” “Where is he?” He heaped several anathemas on the muttered ‘“why did we not keep he muttered. head of the silent Sneezer, and then —— SS SSS | Was _and-water “jokes,” FOES. 105 0 ee eee ee a es crossing his track without noticing its prostrate form, tripped over him. “Qh, spare me, and Ill do any- thing !’’ groaned the Sneezer. “ Put me into a coal-pit, shut me up in a nunnery—any thing you like, only let me live !’ “Hold your row!” Swageerer; ‘it’s “Who's me?” Sneezer. “The Swaggerer.” “ But if wasn’t you a minute ago.” - © What do you mean by that? If it wasn’t me, who was it ? ” The Sneezer sat up and sneezed. “Are you sure that you are alone?” he asked, in a whisper. “Can't you see I am?” said the Swaggerer. “ Haven’t I been roaming about alone for an hour or more?” “ But haven’t you seen him ?”’ asked. the Sneezcr, shaking and_ shivering. “Oh, haven’t you seen him ? ” ‘“T heard him,” said the Swaggerer, curtly. “And that was enough,” said the Sneezer. ‘Oh, don’t deny it: I hear it now. It would have been enough for me, but he pounced on me here, and he swore at me, and Jumped on me, and rolled me about. Oh—atchew! atchew! —it was awful!” | “Do you mean to say that you saw young Jack here?” asked the Swag- gerer, seizing him by the arm. “T *medn +40. Save Tt,” replied the Sneezer, ‘‘ because it is true.” “ And was he alone ?” “T didn’t see anybody with him.” “ What boobies, idiots, wehave been! ”’ hissed the Swaggerer. “Of course, [ might have known it. Only one voice heard, and yet we ran like sheep.” ““Very much like sheep,” said the Sneezer, ‘“‘ but then, you see, the shearer was coming.” “Don’t give me any of your milk- snarled the Swag- crowled the only me.” faintly asked *the >) 99 |gerer. ‘‘ Where are the rest? The | storm is clearing. Shout, and see where they are.” And he struck the blow. The Sneezer turned Swaggerer. es Shout yourself,” Sneezer a heavy savagely upon the he cried. ‘“ What GOMIIGIOO: gs) Co