The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 365: what you’re looking at

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

AY — eee THB MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. A ET - - — 851 | ES each with a brace of pistols in his hands! You may easily suppose that I was taken so aback I[ didn’t know what the deuce to do; while a voice seemed to whisper in my ears, ‘ You are betrayed! you are betrayed!’ The three runners burst out laughing; and one of them cried, ‘ Holloa, Dan'el ! what are you doing here?”—* Why, I only walked up in a fit of absence of mind, says I, no better excuse coming into my head at the instant: ‘ dué what are you doing here?—‘ Oh! only mounting guard over the police-book, which somebody or another has vowed to possess himself of to-night. But of course such a respectable gentleman as you, Mr. Coffin, can't have come here for any such purpose 2’ and then the three scoundrels burst out into such another horse-laugh that I could have killed them onthespot. In fact, I was more than half a mind to fall foul on them; but seeing that the game was all up with regard to Larry, and that whatever I might do would only put me deeper into his power, I pretended to put a good face on the matter and tried to laugh away my confusion. They didn’t make any attempt to detain me; and so I wished them good night and got out of the house a precious deal quicker than I entered it. By Satan! I was never in such a precious rage in my life! I could have blown up the whole world with gunpowder if I had had a chance. I was actually boiling over with a passion that it hurt me to keep down. While hastening back here as quick as I could, a thousand strange thoughts entered my head. I fancied that I should find you all arrested, and that I was only suffered to go at large from Long Acre in order to be nabbed when returning either home to Fleet Lane, or else coming down here at the Folly Bridges. Then I thought that perhaps Larry only meant to make ajoke of it after all. So what with some hesita- tion and a good deal of desperation, I resolved to come straight on here and learn what had taken place. But one thing was all the while uppermost in my mind—and this was, that Nell Gibson had betrayed us!” “There’s no doubt of it,” exclaimed Bencull, savagely. ‘And now what’s to be done?” “ What’s to be done?” thundered the Hangman, starting from his seat and striking his fist with tre- mendous violence upon the table: “why, if we were all to hang for it to-morrow morning, Nell Gibson must die to-night !’—and as he glared round with his ferocious eyes upon his companions, he read assent in all their sinister countenances. “ That is to say,” observed the Buttoner, “if we can find her: but my idea is that she’s cut and run. “Not she,” exclaimed the Hangman. “ You don’t even know the girl so well as I do. She’s not one to bolt like a coward: what she does, she’ll stand by. Besides, didn’t you tell me that Larry spoke of her just as if she hadn’t peached at all?” “Yes,” observed the Buttoner: “but that was his gammon. No one could have told him about the fire at the Baronet’s except Nell Gibson: and therefore she put him up to our present plot also.” “T know all that very well,” exclaimed the Hang- man: “but what I mean is simple enough. There's no doubt that Nell Gibson has peached against us; and it’s also clear that Larry has promised not to tell that he had his information from her. ‘This is the reason why he didn’t have us all taken up: be- cause Nell Gibson’s testimony could alone bring ee ee ees we — << - - — home the fire to three of us, and this night’s plot to us all. Well then, since it’s clear that Larry Samp- son has been bound over to secrecy by Nell, she herself will fancy that she can brave it out before us. She is a bold girl—and I’Jl lay my life that she’s neither run away nor even thought of it, but that you will find her at Mother Young’s.” * Well, Pil go and see,” said the Buttoner. “ But if so be she won’t come down here, what am I to do?” “ Knock her on the head at once,” rejoined the Hangman brutally: “and then cut and run at all risks.” * Wery good,” said the Buttoner: and forcing his hat down upon his head with an air of deter- mination, he issued from the dark crib. CHAPTER XCII. THE MURDER. It was now one o’clock in the morning: but Mrs. Young’s establishment was not one of those where very good hours were kept; and on arriving there, the Buttoner found Nell Gibson and three or four other young women sitting up and drinking brandy together. The instant the man thus made his appearance, Nell Gibson threw upon him a look of significant inquiry, as much as to ask what had been done and whether the plot had succeeded; fur, as the reader will bear in mind, she was in reality very far from being the authoress of the betrayal of that plot to Larry Sampson; and she was therefore to- tally ignorant of all that had taken place since she left the dark crib three hours previously. But the Buttoner of course fancied that this look of inquiry was only a pretence on Nell’s part in order to avert suspicion fiom herself, or else defy it witha brazen face: and therefore putting on a gowd- humoured look, as if he did not suspect her at all, he beckoned her to come out of the room. The young woman had not the slightest reason to refuse; on the contrary, she was most anxious to learn what had taken place; and supposing that her flash man now summoned her away to con- verse somewhere else without the danger of being overheard, she unhesitatingly rose from her seat, threw on her bonnet and cloak, and prepared to accompany him. In the passage they encountered Mother Frank- lin, who had evidently been paying her respects to a bottle of strong waters: for she was now reeling about in a horrible state of ebriety. A tipsy wo- man is at all times a shocking spectacle: but this old hag of nearly ninety, with her bleared eyes now red as if they were raw, her toothless jaws wagging as if with a palsy, and her cracked voice giving utterance to mingled imprecations and obscenities, was altogether one of the most hideous objects that can possibly be conceived. “That drunken old witch had a holiday this | | | | | | | | | | | | | | evening,” said Nell Gibson, who, accustomed | though she was to behold female depravity at all ages and in all its varied phases, was nevertheless ineffably disgusted at the appearance of Mother Franklin. Yes, she has had a holiday; and you see she has made the best of it.” “ Ah! would you insult me?” yelled forth Mother ——~, - COMMIG VOOKSIEO