The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 400: what you’re looking at

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

afr s > am TO, . THE WATCHWORDS OF OLD LONDON. AK ship for him to do this, though he is such a thick-headed fool, and the worst of him is—he drinks so.” With these words the colonel paused a mo- ment, while the Jesuit folded his arms, and re- garded him sternly. Then the drunkard began once more-— “‘ The man,” said he, with a hiccup, “the man who can’t take his glass of wine without making a beast of himself is simply an ass. That’s my opinion. Ha, ha! ‘6 * Life’s but short, so let us drink, And drown all thoughts of sorrow ; Let fools——’ ‘Kh ? who the devil are you ?” The colonel had just caught sight of the cold, stony eyes of the Jesuit fixed upon him with their impassable and passionless gaze. ‘© Who the devil are you?” he repeated, ** Silence |” “En?” “‘ Silence! I say, on your life !” ‘Silence, on my life! Oome, come, this won’t do, Fancourt ; I know it’s you. Upon my life, you do it well; you are a capital masquerade, and always were. By Jupiter! if I didn’t know better, I’d say this room was going round and round with me, I say, what do you think of it, eh?” The Jesuit stepped back a pace or two, and motioned to those who were at the door. Tn another moment, like a party of spectres, they glided into the room, Then the Jesuit pointed to the colonel, who, with his mouth wide open, and his eyes glaring from their sockets, sat grasping the arms of the chair in mute amazement, “Stop, stop !’’ he cried, “ this is too much of a good thing. WhereamInow? What crowd is this? I am surely not drunk! No, no, not drank. Help!” “Gag and bind him,’ said Father Ignatius, calmly. One of the men advanced to the Jesuit. “Stay,’ he said; “here is an effectual method.” ‘* What means this ?”’ . “Tfit is brandy it will be enough to bind up this man’s faculties for hours,” “ Use it, then.” The man took up the decanter of brandy in his right hand, and stalking up to the right side of the astonished colonel, he grasped his hair with his left hand, and drew his head back in a minute, He then began to pour the spirit deliberately down his throat, The colonel tried to shriek. He tried to rise, He fought with feet and hands, His face deepened in colour. It then began to assume a purple tinge, and his hands fell powerless. A faint gurgling sound in his ‘throat was all that could be heard, and then he fell heavily to the floor, as the man released his hold upon his Y. “ He will die!” said the Jesuit. ‘‘ He may recover,” said the other. “It matters not,” was the reply. ‘Come on now, with caution. there ?” *‘ Here,” said a tall, thin man, with a cada- verous countenance, stepping forward. “You are prepared ?”” 66 J am 99 Bartholomew, are you ‘*You will keep close to me, and be ready to act upon a word or look ?” é¢ will,” The Jesnit gave but one parting glance at the form of the colonel, as it lay strangely huddled up on the floor of the room, and then he passed on. At the extremity of the apartment opposite to that at which they entered the place there was another door similar in size and appearance, and this Father Ignatius opened without hesitation, He paused for a moment. ‘‘ Bartholomew,” he said. “‘ Here,”’ was the cold reply. “* One of the lights.” The man who was named Bartholomew took from the table one of the wax lights and brought it to the Jesuit. On his route he had either to step over the prostrate form of the colonel, or upon it. He preferred the latter, and so trod upon him, withont the slightest appearance of compunction or apparent care to know that it was a human form that was under his feet, The Jesuit took the candle and held it a foot or so above his head. “It is well,” he said; “I know the place well. Carry this, one of you, and be ready to ex- tinguish it at once, if I give you the word so to re) 99 The narrow sort of passage in which they were was carpeted very richly, and the walls were hung with damask drapery. A door at the farther end was richly carved with the royal arms, Ignatius pointed to the door with the royal arms upon ite upper panel, dnd in his low, deep tones said— ‘* Behold the Black Chamber !"’ There was, a3 our newspaper reporters woyld say, & sensation among his followers as he fe- peated those words, “Yes,” he added, “this is the goal of our hopes. My friends, we shall now accomplish the great object which has brought us to this ace.”’ J A low murmur of assent and approbation passed from mouth to month, and one voice said— “T am ready !” The quick, keen eye of the Jesuit was upon this man in a minute. The excitement among the followers of Father Ignatius was now apparent, He alone wore a calm, though exultant, ex- pression of feature. Taking the wax candle from the hand of the man, he examined the lock carefully. ‘¢Now then,” he said, “take it out of sight, so that it shall shed no light on this spot, but do not extinguish it altogether.” Bartholomew took the candle away to the other end of the passage, and stood so that its rays were intercepted. The Jesuit’s object was to ascertain if there was any light within, so placing his eye to the keyhole, he peered in. GOVE ©