Penny Dreadfuls, 1923 · page 57 of 116
The Taking of Helen by John Masefield — page 57: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is a page of running prose narrative (page 45) from a Victorian penny dreadful titled *The Taking of Helen*. The text depicts a dramatic scene in which a girl helps conceal a man named Paris from approaching soldiers, while another man named Nireus hides his princely coat in an oil jar and prepares to dig in a gully. A soldier arrives at the house demanding entry. The narrative focuses on frantic dialogue and evasive action as the characters attempt to avoid discovery.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE TAKING OF HELEN 45 himself, ““Ah, she is away!’’ and resigned himself to going. He seemed to fill buckets at a well, and then bore slowly away, with his load, singing, till he was out of earshot up the hill. The girl reappeared. ‘Where have you hidden the lady?” Paris asked. “T will not say,” she said. ‘‘She is hidden. I will hide you.”’ “Tell me where the lady is,’ Paris said, “in case I have to go to her.”’ ‘There are soldiers riding to the front of the house,’’ she said. “Will you come?”’ She took Paris hastily along a passage and up some steps. Nireus heard the soldiers approaching; he took off his princely coat and thrust it into an oil jar. The girl came back for him. | ‘“‘T have nowhere to put you,” she said, ‘‘and the men are at the door there.’ “Can I hide in the well-house?”’ ‘““No, there’s no room.”’ “Let me out here, then,’’ he said. ‘‘Where can I find a pick and shovel ?”’ “There, by the cart.” “T’ll get into the gully then and dig a basin for the brook.” | At the other side of the house a dismounted horse- man was already rattling at the door, and crying, “Is there anyone inside there?’”’ While the girl went CORNICLO® <S (FO)