Roxy Hastings — page 101: what you’re looking at

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92 ROXY HASTINGS. same as his, too, and dese black kid gloves. He says dey come out of de same box wid dis.” These last-named articles were produced, not from the basket, but, from Luke’s pockets, where they had been crumpled and compressed into small dimensions. “All right.” “And two white cravats, sah, to make your neck big and stout, like his, he says.” | “Oh, yes. How soon will he be here ?” “Soon as I go after him, sah. He waitin’.” Louis had listened with intense interest to this dialogue, sitting on the edge of his bed, and ready to retreat under the cover at the first sound of the turnkey’s approach. He and Alfred now consulted together, with pale lips and anxious-looking faces, after which Lee said : ‘* He’d better come about half-past four this afternoon, Luke. Hess will be relieved now in an hour or so—that is, at eleven o’clock. He will be on duty again from two till five, and then from eight till eleven. They change every three hours.” “Yes, sah.” “ About half-past four, Luke. That will suit our plans, you see. It will be dark, or at least dusk, soon after eight.” “Yes, sah.” What the plans, here hinted at, were, may not yet be fully disclosed, but that they did not involve leaving the * Rev. Mr. Brown” in limbo, in lieu of the doomed man, need hardly be said. | * But I forgot, Luke, to ask you about his hair and beard. Did you see to all that, as I told you?” “Oh, yes, sah, of course. He had baird all over his face ; looked drefful rough always. He’s had it tookon off, sah, eberywhere ’cept on de sides, jes ‘like yours, as near as I could tell him, and trimmed proper nice, sah.” “Yes; and the color?” * Little darker than yours—not much.” ‘How about his hair ?” ~ Most black, sir, but cut close, and de soft hat covers it most all up, sah.” : “Very good.” “There will be no appreciable difference in color in the twilight,” said Louis. “ Probably not. You will come with him, Luke?” “Yes, sah.” ‘Be here at precisely half-past four. Remember !” “TPllremember. No danger about Luke forgettin’,” Eomicbooks.co