The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 282: what you’re looking at

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

262 THE COURT OF LONDON time a lion in my path, yet he has lost his claws and his teeth now so far as I am concerned. He can’t bite or yet scratch. ‘The royal pardon,’’ added Coffin, tapping his pocket significantly, ‘‘ has made me proof against all dangers in that quarter.” ‘Of course, we know that,’ observed Sally Melmoth. ‘‘ But why go near such a person at all? The very look of him must be odious, after all you suffered on his account, playing at hide-and-seek as you was, and all the latter part of the time not daring to go to your old haunts either at the Folly Bridges, or Polly Scratchem’s, or any of the flash cribs, because we got the information that they were all being watched by Larry’s men.’ “ Well, well, what’s the use of recapitulating all these things that we know so thoroughly? ”’ cried the Hangman. “ The fact is, Larry got scent, somehow or another, of my being alive and kicking; and, by jingo! now that the thought strikes me,’’ ejaculated the man, his countenance suddenly assuming a look terribly ferocious, ‘‘ I do really believe that I can guess who it was that gave Larry a hint of my having escaped the Thames and being still in the land of the living.” ‘“ Ah! who do you think? ”’ exclaimed Dick Melmoth. ‘“‘ Not the Foundling, eh? ” said Sally. ‘Not at all,’”’ answered Coffin. ‘I know poor Jack is staunch. But who was the first person that I went to after leaving Beechey Manor? ”’ ‘“ Tagoarty, to be sure!” cried both brother and sister, as it were, in the same breath. “ Ay, that’s it,”’ said Coffin, with a look gloomily ominous. “Don’t you recollect the fellow wouldn’t either have me in his house to live a short while, nor would he lend a hand in putting Larry quietly and comfortably out of the way when there was such a capital opportunity. Besides, the very fact that Larry was there that night — ” “Yes, but that was about Jack the Foundling,” observed Dick Melmoth. | ‘“ Ah! but when once a fellow gets any way in league or connection with a Bow Street runner,’ exclaimed the Hangman, dogmatically, ‘you never can tell what he may be enticed into. At all events, it’s very certain,” he continued, ‘“‘ that from the moment I went and showed CORNICLOOOKS (E(0)