The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 249: what you’re looking at

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

THE YOUNG APPRENTICE; OR, CHAPTER XV. NELLY IN SEARCH OF HER LOVER~-THE FOOT- STEPS BEHIND HER-—STRANGE VOICES OF THE NIGHT—THE HORRIBLE VISION-—-THE ATTACK—THE ABDUCTION=-THE CAVE OF DEATH |! NELLY DYSER, as I have said, sped onwards, never dreaming of the fate which overtaken her lover. b The darkness of the wood had no terror for er. All she thought of was Max Bowden. The vision of his face was before her, leading her onward, and driving from her heart all thoughts of anything but love. Presently, however, it seemed to her that footsteps followed her. She glanced hastily round. No one was near. _ The distance from the house to the little gate indicated by Max Bowden was by no means great. But it led through a darkly wooded spot. Only now and then the moon burst forth brightly ; and when it did so, it seemed truly only just sufficient to make the darkness visible. She could see every now and then glimpses of the road and the solitary windmill, whose phan- tom-like sails moved slowly some quarter of a mile away. This was all No human being seemed here. Not eyen a wild animal disturbed the stillness by leaping from its lair. Yet presently, as I have said, footateps seemed following her, She stopped and listened. All was still. Then again she advanced. The steps went on once more. Sbe became alarmed. Should she go back ? Or should she hide herself ? The latter idea she soon dismissed. It would be useless. If followed in the way she imagined, the one who followed could see her and would find her at once, So she hurried on more quickly. ‘‘ I shall soon see Max,” she thought, ‘and he will protect me,” Suddenly she started back in horror. A man was hanging from a tree. It was the Alsatian. She shrieked aloud. _ Her voice went shrilly across the countryside like the wail of a lost spirit. The echo made her tremble. She had little time for thought, however. Hardly had the hideous sigsht met her eye when two dark figures sprang from among the bushes, These were Clement Morpetl and the dwarf, Peter Quelf, She knew them not. Over their faces masks were atill drawn. “Oh, mercy !” she cried; “ mercy !°" “We must have no calls for mercy, we do not understand the cry,” exclainued Clement Mor- peth, in a taunting voice, “ Ccume along, my little beauty, and do not make a disturbance, or it will be the worse for you.” “Oh, in mercy spare me!" exclaimed the young girl, in piteous accents. Quelf seized her in his arms, and raised her from the ground. ‘Lead on, my friend,’”’ he said, to Morpeth. ‘I have stilled her cries now.” And with one hand pressed over her mouth he ran rapidly away after his companion. The young girl’s heart beat wildly in her bosom as Quelf bore her away. Both in anger and fear it beat. Fear at her position. . Anger at being thus compelled to be encircled by the arms of one whom she hated so greatly as Peter Quelf. Oh, how bitterly now she regretted the rash step she had taken in coming out at night to meet Max Bowden against her father’s wishes. How earnestly she prayed to heaven to grant her its aid. How her breast panted with the violent beat- ings of her heart as she Jay in Quelf’s arms with his rude grasp around her. “T will walk if you will let me,” she gasped. ‘‘T promise not to cry out,” “Shall I trust her?” asked Quelf, who was becoming fatigued under his burden. “Yes,” said Morpeth, who was not the best pleased at Peter Quelf’s manner towards the onc whom he himself loved passionately, “yes ; if she cries out after passing her promise not to, | will shoot her dead.” ' She was released accordingly, She had not much further to go now, After proceeding for some hundred yards more they reached a mass of tangled under- growth, Here they halted. Then Clement, who seemed to know his wa well, pushed aside a large clump of it, whic yielded at once to his strength, and discovered the entrance of a dark passage which ap- peared to descend into the very bowels of the At the further end of this passage she could see a glimmering of light, Towards this, therefore, as they forced her to go forward, she advanced, proceeding, as may be conceived, very carefully, for, with the exception of the glimmering of light, she could see nothing. Presently, however, when she had proceeded a little further, she saw that at the extreme end the passage widened into a chamber, round which were several rude benches, In the centre of this dreary apartment was a small square table. On this were the remains of a supper. But what caught her eyes most was a figure in the corner—a human figure—tied to a stake, so bound that it was impossible for him to move, and with a handkerchief bound tightly over hia mouth so that he could not speak, At first in the dim light she did not recognise his form and features, When her eyes, however, had become accus- tomed to the light she saw that it was Max Bowden. With a low cry she sprang towards her lover. =O an CADILNA) EDOOo ». S) -) CO