The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 152: what you’re looking at

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

oA, a y THE WATCHWORDS OF OLD LONDON. may perchance have to be flashed at last! Your virgin sword muat drink blood ; but I think it will be your own that will be spilled over it. A rare chance, my brave sir. See, here is a famous unge.” As he spoke, he made a dash at the captain, and wounded him slightly in the arm. No sooner did the Alsatian feel the pain than he roared aloud. ‘‘ Help, help, my friends !” he shouted. But no one moved. The two tall figures stood with arms folded on the river bank, and watched the fight. ‘Help, help, villains!’ cried Lackland, again, as Quelf’s sword once more grazed his shoulder. ‘Do you not see I am desperately wounded— wounded unto death? Will you not help me when you see that my right arm is stiff and I cannot fight ?” ‘Fight, and cease talking,’’ exclaimed Quelf, attacking him with greater fury than ever. The Alsatian, finding that he was compelled to do battle for hia life, began to keep a little cooler, though every now and then he took a hurried look round, as if to discover some means of flight. Naturally strong, and having learned the use of the sword, he would have proved to any one a formidabie antagonist had he possessed the slightest degree of courage. But of this be was entirely destitute, and the manner in which he wriggled his body about to avoid Quelf'’s blows was infinitely ludicrous. Firat he wriggled to the right, then to the left, and, finally, as he saw no other means of avoiding the dwarf's desperate langes, he threw himeelf back, and sat down with a heavy bump on the hard stones, raising his arm over his head to parry an expected bluw, much in the way of a little boy when he suggeats a reference to hie mother in case of farther ill-usage. The two men who had been watehing the fight on the river bank burst into a loud laugh at this unexpected denoument, ' “Ban him through and have done with him,” cried a voice, which Quelf recognised as that of one of Lord Raymonda’s friends from France, The Alsatian turned icy cold, These were enemies, Where, then, were his friends, Boyce and Radstock ? ‘Oh, mercy ! mercy!” he cried, in tones of abject terror. ‘No mercy !” exclaimed Quelf, drawing back his sword. All his savage and cruel nature was aroused, - and, as he had done in the case of the poor old landlord of the “ Leathern Bottle,” he revelled in the thought of bloodshed. With a fierce lunge, therefore, he drove his sword right through the Alsatian’s body. But, as it chanced, it was no mortal wound. The urfortunate Lackland made so desperate an attempt to avoid the blow that it merely en- tered the fleshy part beneath the shoulder, and, though giving him terrible agony, and rendering him senseless, it had in iteelf no element of ger. Qaelf had just raised his sword to give a finishing stroke, when the voice of his friend was again heard. “ Look to yourself, Quelf,”’ He started round. Only just in time, bi Harold Fordyce and Max Bowden were upon 1m. “See to Lackland,” cried Harold. “I will give an account of this accursed imp.” Quelf’s new adversary was one far different to the first ; but he had now friends to aid him. Seeing the dwarf evidently on the point of being worsted, the two French officers rushed to the rescue, and Max Bowden was compelled to leave the side of his unfortunate friend to join in the fight. There was no cowardice now dn either side ; but the two apprentices were clearly over- matched, The two Frenchmen, tall and strong, and well used to the sword, were in themselves a match for Harold and his companion, while Quelf was an adversary by no means to be despised. Very soon, therefore, they found themselves compelled to retreat, and they began to retire in the direction of the mountebank's house, As they neared it, wounded and fatigued, a window was thrown open, and a white figure appeared. Then the friends of Lord Raymond, whose faces were turned towards the house, saw the bright barrel of a musket glittering in the lamp- ight, They had no time to avoid it. There was a flash, a sharp “ ping,” and cne of the French officers fell dead. 4 “ We are surprised,”’ cried Quelf, ‘‘ We must THe knew well who had fired the shot. It was the mountebank’s daughter, and the shot was intended for him. The window was not closed, and the musket was withdrawn as if to be reloaded. After a sudden lunge, therefore, to take off the attention of the apprentices, the Frenchman and the dwarf retreated hastily, with their faces towards the foe. The young girl was now afraid to fire, for fear of injuring her own friends, and, therefore, with a beating heart, she watched the movements of the four. The Young Apprentice and his companion, relieved of the presence of their third adversary, now renewed their exertions, and had the tri- umph of seeing their enemies compelled to fly before them, * Beaten back to the river side, and wounded desperately, they had yet, however, one mode of While Quelf unmoored the boat, and sprang in, the tall Frenchman stood up before his two foes, and, ing their fierce blows with his thick cl succeeded in leaping into the wherry just in time, and they both pushed off together. Again the dwarf had escaped. After trying in vain to see in what direction SS) GOVE OO © CO