The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 211: what you’re looking at

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200 “ But do not tail to send word to Tuuy Wilkins and the others,” said Lady Bess. “And observe, Svlomon, let each of the three have a brace of pis- tols. You understand me?” Thus speaking, Lady Bess. put a few gold pieces into the old Jandlord’s hand; and with a must ub- sequious bow and fawning grimace, he said, “ Your ladyship has a knack of making anybody under- etand—or at all events, of doing your bidding. The message shall be sent; and I'll be with your lady- ehip on the bridge in a few minutes.” The amasonian heroine t descended the etairs; and issuing from the house, bade the pot- boy put up her horse till she returned, but ordered him not to unsaddle the animal, as she had no time to waste. She then repaired to the bridge, and walked to and fro for about ten minutes, at the ex- piration of which time Solomon Patch emerged from the deepening gloom of the evening. He re- quested her to follow him; and crossing the bridge they skirted the canal for a distance of about a couple of hundred yards,—at which poimt they reached a flight of steps leading down to the towing-path. These they descended; and proceed- ing along the path for a little way, they reached a coal-barge moored against it. “Hollow!” said old Solomon, in 8 peculiar tone: and then he gave a short cough. A man, whom even through the gloom Lady Bess eould perceive to be all begrimed with coal-dust, emerged from the hatchway of the cabin-part of the barge ; and on recognising the old landlord, be said, ‘Well, what's brought you here?’ At the same time he eyed Lady Bess askance through the ob- scurity of the evening. “ All right, Tugs,” responded Solomon, stepping on board the barge. Lady Beas followed, though she did not seem alto- gether to admire the dirty quarters to which she was thus being led ; for, as the reader is well aware, she dressed in the most exquisite style and with what might be termed a little dandyism, as applied to her male costume. The grimy individual whose name to be Tugs, descended the hatchway, followed by Solomon and Lady Bees; and our heroine now found herself in the close fetid atmo- sphere of a little cabin, where by the dim light of a candle a woman was seated suckling a baby. This was none other than Mrs. Tugs; and it was an in- fant specimen of the Tugs’ family which she was nourishing at the maternal bosom. Lady Bees expected to find the Cannibal here; but she was disappointed, and therefore began to wonder wherefore she had been conducted to such a place at all. But she was not kept long in sus- pense: for the bargeman proceeded to open a cup- board in the bulk-head, or wooden that enclosed the cabin transversely ;.and then he lifted the whole of this cupboard out bodily. The entire array of shelves being thus removed, icft an aperture about two feet wide and four feet high A light glimmered within; and the odour of tobacco-smoke saluted the nostrils. Ben he is,” observed Solomon Patch to Lady Our heroine y entered the opening ; and in a little nook about six feet square, she beheld Chiffin the Cannibal, sitting on an inverted tub and puffing his pipe with a grim and sullen look. e «© rer 4a ewe o> a THR MYSTRHi£S OF THE COURT. “ Well, what 1s it now?” he asked in a savage growling tone. “I suppose you've come, Lady Bess, to blow me up for running away and leaving you | that night in the lurch—when we stopped the car- riage, I mean. But, by Satan! I thought you wae dead—or else I would have stuck by you to the last.” “ And how did you know that I recovered ?” asked Lady Beas. “Gos why I caw Iaracl Patch from Gravesend up at Solomon's t’other day, and he told me as how you had rode down to Dover and thrown the rascals overboard. It was a deuced clever thing—and if I was in the humoar I wouldn’t mind saying swamat more handsome still about it.” “ Never mind compliments, Chiffin,” rejoined Lady Bees, with s smile: “I know that they are things not much in your way. But how long do you mean to remain cooped up in this den? where ——excuse me laughing——you look just for all the world like a bear in his cage at the Gardens.” “Ah! it’s all deuced fine to make a jest of it,” growled Chiffin, more savagely still: “but blow me if I like it. The detectives never were so sharp on a fellow before. Howsumever, if what old Madgo says is true and she really does possess any influence in the affair, I expect it will be all right in a day or two.” “And if you saw your way clear to make a few guineas to-night, wouldn’t you risk the danger and leave this crib, which is enough to suffocate you P” “*Pon my soul,” answered Chiffin, taking the pipe from his mouth and puffing out an immense cloud of smoke, “I should be glad of almost any excuse to get out of such a cursed hole as this. But if one does risk one’s safety it must be for some good reason or another; of else it’s mere fool- hardiness.” “Then I propose to furnish you with such an excuse,” rejoined Lady Bess. ‘Come, pluck up your courage, Chiffin—and you shall make a good thing of it to-night.” “Oh! as for the courage, that’s not wanting,” returned the Cannibal, in a somewhat more cheerful tone, and with an endeavour to put on a little more amiable look. “ Besides, somehow or another I've took a fancy to do things with you, Lady Bess—for you seem to have a deuced good run of luck. [ used to be the boy for getting safe off: but this time things went d so I was obliged to come and play at hide-and-seek here with my friend Tugs the Blue-ruin Carrier.” Lady Bees now understood what the avocation of the bargeman was: for under the cloak of keeping an aquatic conveyance for coals, Mr. Tugs was m the habit of receiving on board his vessel the pro- duct of the numerous illicit stills worked in Agar Tuwn. Hence his nick-name of the Bluo-ruiu arrier— blue-ruin” being the patter synonym or * sem 7D “ Come, Chiffin,” ssid Lady Bees, “and prepare for action, You have a good walk before you. But it is now qtite dark; and by followmg the pathway of the canal a little while, you may emerge safe at some convenient spot, whence you cross over to Hornsey church, where you must meot me at @ quarter to eleven at the latest. Is it am under standing P” COMM ElOOO (CO