The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 341: what you’re looking at

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

x CG) EROS " 320 and hideous green face, there stood Lord Ray- mond. ‘Good Heavens!” said Sir Marcus. Lizzie shrunk back and impeded her protector. Then the girl uttered a shriek, as the man with the green face suddenly thrast his disen- aged arm into the carriage, and seizing her by the long ringlets that hung in such luxuriance down her back, he had her out in a moment, “ Hold i” shouted Sir Marcus, “ Villain! devil !” ° Smash went the carriage lamp right in his face, and he fell back over the senselesa form of his daughter. The light was extinguished, and then a deep, hollow voice cried, ‘‘ Ha, ha, ha!” Half stunned and bewildered as he was, how- ever, Sir Marcus rose again and dashed himself out of the carriage into the roadway, shouting, - ‘Whither have you taken my daughter's friend ? Return her and take all I have. Name your price, villains, but restore her to me—my child! Hel » help! Oh! Heavens, let me hear but one shriek from you, Lizzie, that I may know which way to fly to your rescue !” A bewildering scream rose npon the night air, and Raymond then lashed the horses in the old hackney coach into a gallop, ‘Str Marcus, Sir Marcus !’’ cried a voice. “Follow us if you dare! Ha, ha!’ shouted the strange sepulchral tones that-had before brought terror to the ears of Sir Marcus, and then he felt convinced that it was in the coach, that rolled so rapidly away, that his child was borne from him, “A horse, a horse! Oh! Heavens, anything for a horse !" he cried. “ My child will go mad if you are thus lost, My darling! Help, help! John, follow me. It is for your dear mistreas's sake, On, on, on! Sir Marcus Forester set off in a fruitless and mad race after the hackney coach. The two footmen gathered themselves up, and, as fast as their legs would carry them, darted off in the other direction. The dead body of the coachman lay upon its face in the road. Lizzie was now in a complete state of insensi- bility in the power of her foes. “Laurence,” said Lord Raymond, ‘‘ Here you are.” ‘Take her—you know what to do.” “ The box ?”” “Yes, quick, quick; she is half dead with fright, but she may recover yet. Quick! I say. Leave the gate open-—I will soon come to you,” Laurence, with Lizzie in his arms, disappeared into the deserted garden with speed. Lord Raymond carefully took off his green mask and put it in his pocket. He stood with his hands upon the old rotten gate of the garden. Once again he burst into a howling laugh, and then in a crouched-up attitude of intense listen- ing, he strove to catch every sound that came upon the night air. He heard cries far away. It was the father shrieking for his child, and he laughed loudly again. He heard the screams for aid of the half-mad- THE YOUNG APPRENTICE. dened Sir Marcus, and more delight seemed to erowd around his soul. The rattle and dash of the wheels of the old hackney coach, too, still came upon his ears, and he muttered, | ‘Laurence does his work well.” The night wind came past him in howling sts, er The clouds had, as he had hoped they would, thickened, and a few heavy drops of rain were falling. No sound came from the only occupant of the carriage, but a slight confused noise in the other direction to that which Sir Marcus Forester had taken, came upon the ears of Lord Raymond. ‘ Ah,” he said, “ what is that ?” To step lightly ont into the middle of the road was the work of a moment. He took a long look in the direction of the confused sounds, and presently, far off, he saw the flash of lights, and he heard the tramp of footsteps coming hurriedly on. The two footmen had met with aid, and gathering apurage by numbers, now were coming back to render that assistance which is generally too late. _A sbrill, wailing cry from the garden, at this moment, reached the ears of Lord Raymend. ‘¢Laurence, what's that ?” : ‘The girl, confound her.” “What of her ?” ‘She recovers, she will scream ; she won’t go into the house. What shall I do?” ‘‘ Kill her, but make her enter.” Suddenly all was still. Then one shrill scream burst upon the night air—the soream of a helpless, despairing one. CHAPTER XXYV, LIZZIE IN THE POWER OF THE ROYAL SPY — LORD BRAYMOND'S TRIUMPH —THE PRIVATE INTERVIEW —— THE INFAMOUS PROPOSAL — HE MAIDEN AND THE VILLAIN—THE DUEL — THE STRANGE MEETING — THE LIGHT IN THE FOREST—THE WOUNDED TRAVELLER— JOY, JOY |l--THEY MEET A FRIEND AT LAST— AN AFFECTIONATE MEETING — A REMEM- BRANCE OF OLD TIMES. ALL the circumstances which we have narrated in our last chapter were narrated by Lizzie Woodhead to Lady Blanche Villiers almost im- mediately after her arrival in the strange forest prison. ‘But dear Lizzie?” asked Lady Blanche. ‘Were you*not hurt?” ‘Hurt ! YesI was, indeed,” said Lizzie, with a shudder, “for they paid no respect to my cries, They{forced me forward, and almost broke my legsfas I atumbled,on, and upon them and my arms thefbrnises remain <still.” “ And were you released ?” ‘When I arrived here.”’ Lady Blanche‘thoughtja moment. ‘This is very strange,’ she said, “very strange ! What can he want with both of us ?” ‘ Tt is some spirit of revenge. But hark ! who comes this way ?”’ She ceased speaking, and both listened intently, “Ny ROTICR,—WITH NUMBER #3 WAS GIVEN AWAY Am cL NG) a) oe . COLOURED PIOTURE.* Othets will follow it prHe BAAUTINUL woe so GOVE OO OKSHGOnn