Penny Dreadfuls, 1923 · page 34 of 116
The Taking of Helen by John Masefield — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running prose from a Victorian penny dreadful titled "The Taking of Helen." The text depicts a conversation between soldiers and a character named Nireus concerning the disappearance of two people—apparently a young man and woman who have fled. Soldiers are searching various routes to Green Havens and the coast. Nireus learns of multiple mountain passes leading to the sea and decides to pursue them, suspecting the fugitives have already been warned and escaped by one of these remote byways. The dialogue establishes the dramatic setup of a chase narrative.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
292 THE TAKING OF HELEN ‘None, that we can hear of.” “Nor to the Prince?”’ “Nobody knows.” “Which way are the soldiers seeking ?”’ “Down the track to Green Havens, and some up on the hills. We have sent to tell the King. God help our old Lord Halys; nothing like this has ever hap- pened to him before. To lose a guest is to lose God.” “Are there any other tracks to the sea, by which pirates might come and go?”’ “There are no pirates in this,’’ a soldier said as he went past, “but a young man and his trollop and a moony night.”’ Nireus said, ‘I will go join the seekers. What other tracks to the sea are there?”’ “Old tracks across the mountains that lead to the valleys. Green Havens is east from this, the next valley leads to Port Phenice, and the one beyond to Springs Bay.” ‘‘And how for? How many miles?’’ ‘““As many as God pleases, lord; it is all wild hill and rock; many who go out there at night are drowned in the bogs; and some are eaten by devils.”’ Nireus rode down to the river bed where the chariot had waited, but could learn little there, since the soldiers had ridden out the sign. ‘Those two have had a warning,’ he thought, ‘and have fled. Now they are riding by one of these byways to Green ; CORnNICLOOKS»EO