Penny Dreadfuls, 1916 · page 300 of 400
Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil: A Young Virginian in the Revolution — page 300: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running prose from the penny dreadful *Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil* (page 282). The text depicts a conversation among aristocratic characters recounting a dramatic confrontation between an American, a Cherokee companion, and a man named Dick Knatchbull. The American defends his honor against insults about his racial heritage, and the exchange escalates into a multilingual verbal altercation involving French and Carib before the American and Cherokee depart. A bishop comments on the theatrical quality of the scene, and a young Lord Harry begins to speak at the page's end.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
282 Tom ANDERSON, Dare-DEVIL , m nS he is, Mrs. Council; you ought to bring him to ook.” “She wad na find me sae hard-mouthed if I were a bachelor,” declared the unabashed one. And so made his peace. Lady Amy turned to her father with a query. “How could the Cherokee understand what was said to him, Your Lordship?”’ . “Don’t know. He certainly seemed to understand. The American, at least, missed nothing.” “Did he reply to Dick?” “In these words: ‘The day I prove to you that I have not “one ounce” of black blood in me, you shall apologize or fight!’ He added, ‘I will not give you an opportunity to forget me, Mr. Knatchbull.’” “And Dick?” breathlessly. “What did he say?” “Oh, he snarled something in Carib. He’s picked up a smattering of their tongue from his Carib boys, you know. Might have been Carib for ‘ poppycock’ — can’t say, I’m sure. Certain it is, he did it to affront the American. The American rushed into French. The Cherokee cracked con- sonants with his teeth. It was bedlam!”’ “It was dramatic,” declared Bishop Coleridge. “I have n’t seen anything so fine since I saw Garrick in his last appearance, in London, five years ago.”’ “Ah, when will the world give us another Garrick! What’s that, Lady Amy? Well, the upshot of it all was, the American, after thanking the Marquis de la Jonquiére for his kindness, curtly declined all offers of assistance, and walked out of the office with his Cherokee. He said very haughtily that he needed nothing. “But I shall be grate- ful to Your Lordship if you will prevent the Barbados constabulary from apprehending us as vagrants!’ I as- sured him he would be safe from interference,’ added Lord Mulgrave. Little Lord Harry, who had been listening intently to all the talk going on among the grown-ups, spoke up very earnestly, “May it please Your Lordship, | should like ECOMMIEOOOKSn(e© m