Richard Forrest, Bachelor — page 248: what you’re looking at

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

A LIVING SAINT. 239 like this. It’s a mighty ticklish piece of road eae the upper mountain—mighty ticklish.”’ ‘I must go to-day,’’ uttered his guest. Then he relapsed into a silence which lasted until the heavy roll of wheels and the cracking of the driver’s whip announced that the stage had arrived. AIl was bustle and confusion. ‘‘No passengers,’’ shouted Ned Matthews, the driver, as he scrambled down from his perch and made his way into the house. He, too, was regaled with whisky, but not of the same choice brand as the first arrival, and yet he found it so much to his taste that he did not require urging to induce him to take a second and third potion. “That there’sa precious good nip,’’ he remarked, smacking his lips and wiping his mouth on the back of his glove, as the bottle was restored to its place behind the bar, much the worse for wear. ‘‘It kind o’ puts the tuck into a fellow.”’ Then he picked up his whip again and made his way out to the stable. ‘‘How soon do we start?’’ asked Mr. Forrest. ‘‘As soon as they hook up the fresh team,’’ responded his host. ‘‘It won’t take long now, it’s so late. There’s two other passengers to be picked up down the road a - piece, at Convent Road, we call it.”’ ‘‘Indeed?’’ returned Mr. Forrest. ‘Ves, and it’s rather out of the direct way. It’ll be later’n ever when yo’ reach Wallford. Now wecan put yo’ up, as I said befo’, fus’-class—good bed——’”’ The other interrupted him with a gesture. Gomicbooks co