Penny Dreadfuls, 1923 · page 40 of 116
The Taking of Helen by John Masefield — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is a page of running prose dialogue from the penny dreadful *The Taking of Helen* (page 28). Soldiers interrogate a man named Nireus about Lord Halys, testing whether Nireus actually knows him by asking details about which guard troop Halys commands and what colored scarf he wears. When Nireus gives conflicting answers, one soldier moves away in suspicion. The page concludes with casual banter about horses and their peculiar natures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
28 THE TAKING OF HELEN ‘Indeed. I had not heard that.”’ ‘Perhaps you have not seen his lordship for some time, sir?” | “No, not for some time; but from what I could make out, he did not mean to sell the Curlews. It is a fine property.”’ “Perhaps you have not tried to make a living off it, Sino “No, I have not.” “Talking about Lord Halys, sir,’’ another soldier said, “perhaps you could tell us which troop of the guard it is that he commands. Is it the Blue troop or the Green ?”’ “The Green, isn’t it?’’ Nireus asked. “Surely, sir, you could tell us what coloured scarf he wears?” ‘The gentleman is from the islands,” the lad from the Curlews said, “‘perhaps he would not have noticed the scarf.’ “Well, I say, myself,”’ the other said, “‘that he com- mands the Blue Troop.” He moved away sulkily to a little distance, from which he watched Nireus with disfavour. “Horses are queer things,’ another soldier said. ‘“They’ve each got a nature, if you understand what I mean. There’s that horse of yours, sir, to take an instance now, he roots his head about as though he were dodging midges.”’ | CONnnIECDOOKS (EO)