The Argosy — page 273: what you’re looking at

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

248 The Wiute Witch. Place when they reached London. The fatigue and anxiety he was going through were telling heavily on him; his face was ghastly white, and he could not rest in any position; he began to fear his strength would not hold out to the journey’s end. Then the voice of the stranger, not in quite the same tones as he had used before, addressed him : ‘‘T can see that you are far from being well enough to take so long a journey, sir. I ama doctor; will you allow me to prescribe for you?” He spoke very courteously and genially, and drew from his pocket a case, from which he took a small bottle. “Thank you; you are very kind,” answered Godfrey faintly. ‘“ It is true I am not very well,” he added, still wondering what it was about this stranger which seemed just to stop short of bringing some memory to his mind. ‘“ But if, as I think, it is a sedative you propose to give me, I dare not take it: it might throw me into so deep a sleep that I should not awake at the journey’s end.” “Tt is not a sedative, but a stimulant. And you had better take it, for unless you do have something to keep you up, trust me, you will be insensible long before we reach London.” Godfrey felt this to be so probable that he hesitated no longer, but swallowed the draught, and settled himself again in his corner. But he had scarcely time to discover, by the drowsiness which he felt creeping over him, that he had been deceived, before the sleeping-draught overcame him, and he fell back unconscious. The stranger then arranged him comfortably in his corner with a satisfied expression of face, and went to sleep himself. When at last the express was nearing the terminus in London and came to a standstill for the collection of tickets, the young doctor ingeniously slipped out of the carriage, and got into the next. The guard had much difficulty in arousing the other passenger, and thought he had never seen a man so sound asleep before. Godfrey seemed dazed, and could hardly be brought to understand that it was his ticket which was wanted. Then the train went on. Now Mary Dixon, knowing that Godfrey was in the train and fearing very much that somebody else was, a greater enemy than Godfrey, or what did Ben’s parting warning mean, had been wonder- ing how she could best elude the notice of these two pursuers ; and she could think of nothing better than remaining in the carriage until the crowd of people should have left the station. Accordingly when the train slowly drew up .at the terminus, Mary ensconced herself right back in her corner, her feet doubled up on the seat and the blind well drawn before the window. A porter looked in, saw nobody, and went on again. The old gentleman and lady, her fellow travellers, had left the train at its last stopping-place. Presently, peeping out, Mary saw Godfrey assisted across the platform by a man in the station uniform, He looked frightfully ill, Gomicbooks (E(e) aE — EE ——— —