The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 105: what you’re looking at

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

102 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. keep me by force. Help! help! for mercy’s sake help! and save me from these men.” ‘“‘D——n!” said Ned, of Newington, ‘‘who would have thought of this? Be quiet, will you, or J’ll stun you with my stick.” ‘‘ Help! help! in mercy, help!” ‘‘ Hilloa!” said the coachman, in a gruff voice; “ stop them. What’s the matter ?” ‘‘Go on, my fire-fly with red wings, you area pretty fellow to stop when you have his majesty’s mails about you.” ‘‘Save me—save me from these men, who are dragging me I know not whither.” ‘¢Come, come, there!” said the guard; ‘if you don’t halt and give me less of your gammon, Til put a bullet through you!” ‘‘ Hold hard, Ned,” said the mendicant; ‘‘let the man in red get down; I can satisfy him.” ‘‘Help! Do not leave me here with these men, who have seized me against my will, and are taking me away from my friends.” ‘What are they doing with you?” inquired an outside pas. senger. ‘They have torn me from my friends by main force, and are now carrying me away, I cannot tell where. Save me, in pity’s sake; Captain Morton will reward you well, I am sure.” ‘Come, just give up the young lady, you rascals, or I must make you,” said the guard, getting down, with a pistolin one hand and a lantern in the other. ‘*T have had too much trouble to catch her to think of it.” ‘* What do you mean ?” “That she’s an escaped lunatic—very dangerous indeed at times, ard never safe with any implement she can do mischief with; she has killed two children by putting pins in their eyes.” “Good God!” exclaimed the guard; ‘* but where’s your authority? You seem in a queer plight; you look like a beggar on horseback.” - ‘And so would you if you had been as roughly handled as I have been; and as for my authority. why, here it is.” As he spoke he pulled out the staff he had taken from the cunning officer, and thrust it into the guard’s mouth. ‘* Well,” exclaimed the irritated guard, ‘‘ you needn’t cram it down my throat. I didn’t ask you for anything to eat.” ‘* Well, but here’s my authority.” | | ‘You be d——d and your authority. Idon’t wonder at the poor thing being sorry to go back, if this is the kind of usage she gets.” ‘‘T assure you,” said Mabel, who had been completely thrown off her guard by the cool and ready assurance of these ruffians, for she felt convinced that she had but to make such an appeal as this, and they would fly. ‘‘I¢an assure you,” said Mabel, ‘*that all they have said is utterly false. These men are two criminals, and have seized me, and are bearing me away against my will. Save me, for pity’s sake! As you are men, lodge comicbooks. com