The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 360: what you’re looking at

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

- ~ \ "OS THE WATCHWORDS OF OLD LONDON. The stern, well-known voice of the Man with- outa Name. The struggle, however, was but a brief one The Man without a Name—the strange man of ‘ mystery—was encumbered with the care of the young girl, who, in the plumpness of youth, weighed heavily. Her splendid limbs, whose rounded muscles could have carried her in swiftness beyond the reach of her pursuers, now lay listless'y on his arm; her lovely breast was pulseless; her arms could not support her ; her legs could not sustain the weight of her body. So in the darkness of the night the straggie was but brief. Darvil, sure of a splendid reward, fought like a devil. After a few moments, Alicia la unconsciousness at the mercy of her strange lover, whose satanic langh rang like a dreary deatH knell over the silent river. A deadly fight it was. Only for awhile. The boat was off, the Man without a Name sankinto the shadow, and Lord Lovaine, aided by his servant, John, who, antil now had re- mained inactive, assisted Darvil to bring the boat to the parapet. ‘‘ By joye, she is mine,” aaid Lord Lovaine, ‘“‘and this is a great and glorious triumpb over Ra Changeling and Sir Henry. They will both of them be ready to knock their heads off when I announce to them that Alicia isin my possession, and call upon Sir Henry for a thou- sand pounds, Oh! what a fool Sir Henry has made of himself in this business to be sure, ha, ha! How lovely she is! Idon't wonder at Lord Leicester beginning to envy her probable fortune, and ending by falling downright in love with the girl for her own sake.” Lord Lovaine held Alicia in his arms, and twice he advanced his lips towards her, as though he were about to kiss her, but he drew back, saying— ‘“No, that is a coward’s trick to kiss a girl while she is insensible. It is as wellto kiss a pictured image, But, oh! Alicia, if, with all your senses clearly about you, you would thus lie in my arms, [ should, indeed, esteem myself the most fortunate of men. Well, well, they say I have a tongue which would charm an angel out of Paradise, I will try ita power to-morrow upon you, fair Alicia.” “ My lord,” said John, ‘* Yes, what is it.” ‘‘ The boat is all ready at the east end of the garden parapet, my lord.” “That will do, John. Iam coming ; lend me that cloak of yours.” * Yes, my lord.” John handed to Lord Lovaine a large cloak in lovely _ that he had upon his arm, and the ear! carefully folded it round Alicia, so that she was as com- pletely wrapped up in it, with the exception of er head and face as it was possible to be, ‘That will do,” said Lord Lovaine. “Now to the boat,”’ Making his way rapidly across the garden, fo the parapet close to the water, John preceded Lord Lovaine by a few steps merely, and the earl, with Alicia in his arma, followed him. Darvil, with the boat, was close under the parapet, so that util you got right on to the very verge of it you could not see him or his wherry ; but Jack knew the exact position he occupied, so he easily and without delay led his patron to the spot. The tide bad gone lower considefably, and there was soon a apace of some four feet or so petween the level of the water and that of the garden wall, so that it was not so easy a matter to step into the wherry as it would have been some two or three hours before. Lord Lovaine saw the state of things in a moment, and turning to John he said quickly, but without any appearance of hurry, “ You get into the boat, John, and I will hand the girl down to you.” “Yes, my lord, I will take every care of her.” ‘By Jove, John, you had better.” Jobn, by firat sitting on the parapet with his legs over the edge of it, and then slipping down into the wherry, managed the descent pretty well. As he stood up in the boat, he could just manage to receive the insensible form of Alicia in his armas, ‘ Have you got her?” said Lovaine. ‘Yes, my lord.” ‘‘ All right, keep steady.” ‘¢ Ah, ah, sir.” “That will do,” said Lord Lovaine, and in another moment he had sprung into the boat lightly and easily. He placed Alicia in a reclining position upon some cloaka that lay at the bottom of the wherry, and then turning to the waterman, he said, “ Darvil, row for your life as quickly as [you can to Whitehall.” ‘Yes, my lord,” ‘‘Stay,” said John, as Darvil was about to take the sculls to his hands, saying, “‘ Let me pull this one. We sball go all the quicker.” “As you please, sir.” The waterman looked a little doubtful about the fact of John taking one of the oars; but he soon had cause to retract that opinion, for, to tell the truth, there were few watermen on the river who were better at rowing than John. He was one of those men who were forced to learn every pretty accomplishment of that cha- racter leat they might be wanted by a patron and found to be insufficient. By the united exertions of Darvil and John the boat shot through the water at great speed, The daylight was getting so rapidly and brightly about all objects that Lord Lovaine was in the greatest state of fidget lest the boat and its contents should attract more attention than he wished, and he kept urging the waterman and John to renewed exertions, and every now aod then he moved forward to the action of the boat, as it dashed through the water, as though he could accelerate its movements by any such exertions of his own. To do John and the waterman justice, they did their work well, and their streaming faces in the morning light testified to the character of the work they were about. The old bridge at Westminster was got through in gallant style, and the long range of gardens which was then quite uninterruptedly at the back of the houses in Whitehall, was plainly to 339 EDOOo 4 te = SS -"') j