The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

THE YOUNG APPRENTICE; OR, in view, and, crossing the groaning wooden bridge, Harold drew up at the door of the Ferry House just as the last echoes of a Royalist song died away on the night air. “Master Hezekiah Martin has changed the character of hia guests,” thought Harold, as he gave his horse into the charge of the ostler and passed in, As he passed, there was a lull in the loud con- versation ; and one of the men, less drunk than his companions, whispered to his neighbour and went into the adjoining chamber. ~ Harold proceeded on his way and found him- self after a moment in the very chamber where Ben Firebrace had taken leave of Lizzie on the night of the attack on Master Laurence’s house. Lizzie was sitting by the fire, and Harry Mar- tin was near her, She started in surprise as the Young Appren- tice entered, and this surprise was not lessened when he drew the letter from his bosom and handed it to her. The young girl seized it eagerly. “From Ben Firebrace?” she said inquiringly. “Yes, shall I read it to you?” said Harold, glancing at Harry Martin. ‘You, sir,” he added, somewhat deflantly, “will understand that I cannot do so before a third person.” Harry hesitated, but after a moment he quitted the room with a bitter scowl. - _ Lizzie came more closely up to Harold. ‘Did you receive this from his own hand ?” she said in a timid voice, “Yes, he gave it to me as a sacred deposit, I will read it to you,” said Harold, “but I must not, even in this enterprise, lose much time, for Cromwell's business calls me at once to London.” _He then, word for word, read to the blushing girl the fervid words which her lover had sent. Lizzie listened eagerly, and when the Young Apprentice had finished speaking, she listened still as if awaiting more. Amid this sudden silence, Harold heard a confused whispering in the passage, and, urged by a strange impulse, he sprang up to listen. A few words were enough. ‘‘ There is a plot here to betray me, fair lady,” he eaid, in a low tone, as he returned to Lizzie's side. ‘“ Will you, asa reward for what I have brought you, do me a service ?” ‘¢J will.” “Then bring needle and thread ; keep that ill-looking fellow out of the room, and I will explain to you what I mean.” The girl rose at once, secreting the idolised letter in her white, warm bosom, and in a few moments she returned with a foaming tankard of ale. _“ Drink,” she said, as she closed the door be- hind her and barred it, “drink and be not afraid of interruption. No one will interrupt us, for they are all too busy with their whispers in the passage,”’ Harold drew out his clasped knife and care- fully undid the stitching of his left boot. Then he as carefully inserted the letter he had received from Cromwell. “Now, then Mistress,” he said, “if you will use your pretty fingers for me in sewing up this boot, you will be doing both me and Ben Firebrace good service.” The gir] lost no time in doing as he desired. In fact, while he had been talking, her nimble fingers had been busy with her needle, andina few moments the Young Apprentice, having drank hid ale, was ready to start once more. On opening the door he found that the whisperers had disappeared. The drunken troopers still occupied their places in the front of the bar, but of Harry Martin and the man who had risen up on Harold’s entrace nothing was to be seen. Hurrying out, therefore, the Young Apprentice found his horse awaiting him at the front door, and, springing on its back, he slipped a piece of money into the hand of the ostler. As he did so, one of the trees on the side of the road seemed to take life and follow him. This, in fact, was all that could be made out in the black darknesss ; but the sound of a horse’s footsteps on the hard ground soon told Harold Fordyce that his suspicions were not ground- less. It will be remembered that when he firat started from Cromweli’s camp he had fancied that the distorted figure of the dwarf had hovered around him like an evil spirit. Now this spirit seemed to have taken bodily shape and to be pursuing him with some deadly design. ° , It, was evident, however, that Quelf -had this time resolved not to run the risk of an open hand-to-hand encounter with him. . There was in his heart some villanous scheme of revenge which Harold could not fathom. Watching carefully, however—the' more 80, that he was now approaching the metropolis— he was surprised about three in the morning by seeing a line of horsemen before him. He had reached the summit of a high hill before he saw them drawn up along the highway below him. They were eight in number, and by their dress they appeared to belong to the Royalist party. Harold halted, and glanced around him to sce what chance there might be of escaping from this ambuscade. Behind him, in the dim twilight, he could sce another party of eight Royalists. A ninth, whose horse was close up against the edge, being recognisable, even in the semi-dark- ness, as Quelf the Dwarf. . , “Tam trapped,” thought Harold, as he saw both parties closing him slowly in. He glanced from left to right eagerly. On one side was a rough stone wall, such as one still sees dividing fields in the more rugged parts of England, while beyond it a wide deep ditch rendered its passage impracticable. On the other side was a low hedge, beyond which stretched a wide meadow, on the margin of which there seemed to be a ruined mill, His determination was at once taken. Turning his horse sharply round, he leaped the hedge, and scoured across the green fields, just as both parties of Royalists came full speed towards him, It was a somewhat dangerous experiment, for he knew nothing of the road he was taking, and he was between two fires. The Royalist troopers at once sprang forward, and, as Harold rode desperately onwards, he formed, as it were, the point of a triangle, EDOO “XQ CO