The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 126: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OT THE WATCHWORDS OF OLD LONDON. He hoped to be able to speak to the armourer; but he could not get nearer him than enabled him to say “Good day ; God be with you,” ‘‘ Aye, aye, boy !” said Leslie, in spite of the frowns of the soldiers, “Aye, aye, never fear for me ; Heaven proteots the innocent.” Led into the council chamber, the armourer was placed in the prisoners’ dock and ar- raigned. " The indictment was a long and wordy affair ; suffice it to say, that he was charged with treason and murder, with a variety of minor offences. The first witness was Lord Raymond. When he made his appearance there was a dead silence. He had the sympathy of no one. foe are a Royalist leader?” asked the jadge. “I was. I am now belonging to the party of Oliver Cromwell,”’ “ And you know the prisoner ?” “Tdo. I will explain in what way. I was engaged with other Royalists in a conspiracy to destroy tie heads of the Republican party. As au instrument in this, I considered that a giant like Frank Leslie would be a good one to select, and Iam ready to bring forward twenty who will swear to him, on one condition,” ‘‘ And that is?” “ That, like me, they will be exempted from all chance of punishment.” “Good. We will consider the propriety of doing so. In the meantime goon, Letus have a list of the persons sacrificed.” “T can remember a few only. Sir Heward Hamilton, Leicester Lansdown, Archibald Mac- ferson, Lord Leonard, and Captain Francis Bas- ley ; all encmies of the king.” “And did this man destroy them all ?” “He did.” : ‘* Have you seen him at his deathly work ?” “Ono one occasion—yes, On other occasions he went straight from our place of concralment, beneath his own house, and on hia :eturn to us at our next meeting he was always able to “bring us news of the death of those we had pro- acribed.”’ ° “ They, therefore, died by his hand or through his agency ?” } “Yea,” a * And why did you cease to employ him ?” “ Becausd& we suspected him to be a secret friend to Cromwell,” | - Btgnd.down, my lord. Call Peter Quelf.”’ 2 The‘ dwarf roee into. hie place with a hideous ~Méer on his face, t+; . # But his gratified smile was in no way re- _ spondéd to b} the assembly. - » ° Thg judges gat atorn and implacable—seeking - for zigid gogtigo--resolved ta be iufluenced by no privgke feelings. . “ Whgtdor ?”’ aaked the Chief Justice, “ An.drmanfer's apprentice,” ‘S38 fhe service of the prisoner ?” ‘‘T was, my lord." “And what do you know of the prisoner's deslings with the Royalists?” ‘* His daughter was a staunch adherent of the king’s, and he secreted in the house a lover of hers, one Leicester, who pretended to be an apprentice, but who was in reality the Earl of Leicester. She carried on a rezular communi- cation with the Royalist leaders, and supplied them with information obtained from her father, the prisoner.” “ And where did her friends meet ?” “ Below the armourer’s house. Theplace was reached by passing through a door in his work- shop, the door being opened by a secret spring.” “Which I have never seen,” said Leslie. “ Silence! The defence will come,’ said the stern judge. “Well, and when the prisoner was dismissed from his post of assassin you succeeded him ?” és Yes,” ‘Have you seen him commit any of these murders ?”” “JT have, Three.” ‘‘Do you remember a curious piece of armour fashioned in your workshop?” é¢ | do.”’ ‘Did you take it home when finished ?”’ a 3 No. Harold Fordyce, the other apprentice, l ~ _ ‘Stand down, Call Harold Fordyce.” When the young and handsome apprentice entered the box, and gianced fearlessly and resolutely round, he made an evident impression on the assembly. “This boy will not tie,” said the judge to himself. “He looks sadly and kindly at his master. I have here before me a painful, though necessary, task.” “ Your name?” he asked. ‘‘ Harold Fordyce.” ‘What are you?” ‘‘ An apprentice to Mr. Leslie, the armourer, faleely accused of treason aud murder.” “Hush !” said the judge; “you must answer only the questions put. Now, tell me—and recollect when you do so that I must have the truth—tell me, did you not see a murder done opposite the prisoner's door soon after you entered his service ?” “ Yes, my lord.” “ By a gigantic man?” Yea, ray lord,” ‘* Whom you believed to be the prisoner ?”’ Harold hesita'ed. Tell the truth, my boy,” said Leslie sadly ; ‘JT shall not blame you for that.” “ Yes,” returned Harold with much emotion. “You saw a second done by the same hand ?” “Yea, my lord.”’ ‘And then, when you saw a third, you re- solved to prove to yourself the truth of your suspicion, You accordingly cut a piece of cloth from out of the cloak of the man who committed the murder, and when you examined the cloak of your master, you found that the piece fitted exactly the hole in that cloak, Is it not ao?” “ Yea,” said Harold, looking down and turn- ing deadly pale. Then he suddenly raised his eyea, saying — “ Ag I have told thie part of the story, may I be allowed to add my reazons for believing that l@ is not the same ?”’ * Certainly,” said the Chief Justice ; “ we are not here to condemn, but to exercise justice.” EDOOo