The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 125: what you’re looking at

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

122 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. silence, and at length Henry Morton beheld asomething which arrested his attention. ‘¢What’s that, Rafferty ?” he said. “That yonder, ahead of us—in yonder cross-road somebody riding fast. I can only see the head now and then rising above the hedge in the openings.” **'Wher. is it =” ‘‘T can’t see it now, but it was yonder by the stump of the willow tree.” | ‘‘T see the spot, but not the rider.” ‘* Look a little to the left as they keep moving, and at some of the openings we may catch a sight of them.” ‘¢ True, true.” Henry Morton looked long and fixedly toward the spot where the rider had been seen, but could see nothing; however, he and Brolickbones continued to gaze in the direction for some minutes, when they distinctly saw more than one person pass a gap in the hedge at a very rapid rate, and then disappear. “Can you make them out, Rafferty ?” ‘There were two of them, I think, sir, and one was, if am not mistaken, a female; but I am not sure.” ‘‘Come on, Rafferty,” exclaimed Henry, ‘‘ we must overtake them soon.” - ‘‘Sure enough we shall,” thought Brolickbones, ‘‘if we don’t break our necks in the meantime. I must say that if I could find Miss Mabel J wouldn’t mind breaking my neck.” Rafferty’s reflections were cut sbort; for Henry Morton in- creased his pace to a gallop, and Rafferty was compelled to pay all his attention to his horse and his seat. They rode several miles until they had long passed the point where they saw the persons after whom they were riding; but now they saw nothing of them, although they could not have gone on much ahead of them, as they had come so fast, and by a shorter path. “s ell, Rafferty, they must have gone on ahead for some dis- tance. ‘‘They must have suspected something, sir, and that’s what made them get on; perhaps they’ve had a gallop, too.” ‘* IT dare say—lI dare say.” ‘Yes, yes—follow on, follow on.” They now rode at around trot, on the back road, for some miles, until they came to a turnpike-gate, where they drew up to make some inquiries. ‘“‘ Well, my friend,” said Henry Morton to the gatekeeper— ‘‘you are up early.” | ‘* Yes, sir.” ‘‘Have you many people through of a morning?” he con- tinued. ‘* Yes, a few.” ‘“*Have you seen any person through this morning, accom- panying a lady ?” ‘*' Was he in the dress of a policeman ?” ‘‘ By my sowl, you've struck it,” said Rafferty. comicbooks. com