The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 85: what you’re looking at

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

+ =(,4 Cs ‘ON 72 THE YOUNG APPRENTICE. the little wooden edifice inhabited by Pilgrim er. The old man was just setting out his fruit for the day. Pilgrim Oorder was quite a stranger to the young nobleman, who had only heard from Simon Lawless of his strange abode, and his power of watching the Royalist spy. He soon made himself known, however. ‘You know Lord Raymond?” asked Villiers. The old man looked up inquiringly, and answered in a querulous voice, “ Well, well, and gupposing that I do, what is that to any one?” “Surely no; but I am a friend of Simon Lawless, a friend to Harold, the armourer's oung apprentice, an enemy to Lord Raymond, He is my worst, my deadliest foe, and he has just taken from me one whom I love more than life,” There was quite evidence enough of sincerity in Lord Villiers’s manner to convince Pilgrim Corder that he spoke the truth. ‘¢Well, well,” he said. ‘How can J serve you?” ‘By answering me a few simple questions,” returned Lord Clement. “ Ask them,” said the vendor of fruit, “‘ and if I can answer, I will.” | ‘Yn the first place, then, is the half-burned and ruined house yonder inhabited now by any one??? ‘It seems unoccupied, as you see,” replicd Corder ; “but I suspect it to be.” “And why?” ‘For a good reason—I have heard voices within it.” “Voices you knew?” “Yes ; the voice of Lord Raymond and that fellow Leicester,” * Only these two ?”’ ‘No; last night I heard the voice of a woman.” ‘Ah! A stranger?” ‘Yes; one I had never heard before.” * You could not hear her words 7?” ‘‘No ; there was too much noise round me for that; but one thing I could tell, which was that her tones were those of a n in anger.” ‘‘By Heaven! We have now the clue !” cried Villiers, turning to Ben Firebrace. ‘Tt seems a0 indeed. Shall we go over to the house ?” asked the captain. ‘Yes; at once.” Crosaing the road, Ben rang a loud and clanging peal at the bell, which rolled its sonorous voice over the silent river. There was no reply. ‘Why, the door is open,” said Villiers. “Let us enter.” The door yielded to the merest touch, and in an instant they were within the fire-blackened and empty stono which had so lately teen the desperate attack of the giant armourer. ‘The place seems to me deserted,” said Cap- tain Fire race. “ What ho, there! Whois within ere ?” There was no reply: Having searched in every nook and corner in the basement story, they proceeded to the next floor, but found no better success. ‘We are no better now than when we started, NOTION.—With our next Number will be GIVEN AWAY another splendid Picture printed in Seven Colours. Others will follow, to make this Book a beautiful Ben,” said Villiers, in a voice of chagrin. “Iam afraid that this villain has foiled us.” “] fear so, my lord. There is one thing on which you may congratulate yourself, howgver. The Lady Blanche Marcheville is now Lady Villiers—your wife—and he cannot, therefore, force her into a m Worse I do not think even he would attempt with her.” “‘ T know not !” exclaimed Villiers, “I tremble when I think that she is in the power of such a . At twelve o'clock, then, with rage, despair, and anguish at his heart, Lord Clement Villiers was compelled to quit London, and make his way in all haste towards the North. CHAPTER XX. HOW HAROLD FORDYOE DISCOVERS A CLUE TO A CERTAIN GREAT MYSTERY. THE extraordinary manner in which Harold Fordyoe had come to be mixed up in political mattera, and the way in which he had conducted himself through everything, could scarcely, as you may imagine, have to reach the ears of his fellow apprentices, At the alga of the “ Leathern Bottle,” where the youths held their club, he was not long in becoming leader in most of their games, espe- pecially those in which activity both of mind and body were required.’ For the apprentices, in their leisure hours, had grand games in the large grounds Dehind the “Leathern Bottle,” and there was football. and running matches, and tilting ‘and sword exercises, and leaping, which Kept the youngsters in good health and trim for their work. Smoking was prohibited. In those days this was regarded as a vice, and rightly so in the case of boys. Bad words subjected the members to fines. The society was instituted for mutual benefit —for mutual enjoyment and protection. And, considering the numbers of which it was composed, and the immense number of branches throughout London that it possessed, the Society of Apprentices was no insignificant thing, | twas the heart of a formidable body that beat at the sign of the “ Leathern Bottle,” About a week after the abduction of Lady Blanche, Harold received a notice. It was from the seciety. The annual election of captain had come round, and he was invited to attend, for the purpose of giving his vote. But there was a second pu this time. A purpose, be it said, that was anything but a pleasant one. t was the exclusion of a member, This very rarely happened, The members of the society acted generally in pretty good accordance with the rules, and the apprentices, were, therefore, saved from the humiliating spectacle of seeing one of their members dis At eight in the evening of the day fixed, Harold, having obtained permission from his master, proceeded towards the old house, rowing across the dark river, which once had been, as it were, his home. Volume for binding. CO GOVE OO © ee + ee