The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 197: what you’re looking at

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

194 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO, ‘‘No, no; we may get him to open the door himself, and then we can at once seize him without giving him any time to arm himself, as Iam persuaded that such a character will use any means of inflicting mischief.” - ‘‘T don’t care a curse if——” ‘*Hush! he hears you. See, he has stopped walking,” said the other officer, as he got on his feet and stood by the door. ‘‘Come on: we will wait here a moment or two.” They waited a moment or two; but they found that nothing was to be gained by so doing; so he knocked gently at the door and awaited the effect. Without a moment’s hesitation the mendicant stepped to the door and opened it. It was evident he had not expected such visitors, for he started as he beheld the two officers. His own heart at once told him the nature of their call, had not a glance at the men been suf- ficient. In an instant, before the officers could make a move to revent him, he had shut the door in their faces, and double- ocked it. | - poets said Thorburn; ‘ well, now, how do you like that ?” 66 ———}) 7 ‘‘ Well, then, the next act of the man will be to throw him- self out of the window, cut his own throat, or shoot one of us. What do you say to that °” ‘<Come, come, Thorburn, don’t give us any more of your non- pag al do you think we had better do in such an emergency as this ?” ‘‘Knock at the door, and say what you want at once, and, if he refuses to open it, go in.” The officer at once knocked roughly at the door, and awaited but a moment for an answer, and, receiving none, he repeated the summons, saying: ‘¢ Open, in the king’s name.” No answer, however, was returned to this, and he drew back a yard or s0, saying: “s If you do not open the door, I will soon make way into the room. As he spoke be made a rush at the door, followed closely by Thorburn, with the intention of bursting it open; but just as they arrived at it, they found it open; they both passed headlong into the apartment several yards before they could recover themselves. ‘* Here’s a go!” exclaimed: Thorburn. Before anything more could be said or done a rush was made by the mendicant past the officers, toward the stair-head, as if for the purpose of flight downwaril, but before he could reach it the officers had seized him by the collar of the coat; and then a desperate struggle ensued among them. ‘‘Surrender!” exclaimed the officer. ‘‘ You cannot escape.” ‘*T will try!” exclaimed the mendicant. As he spoke he made a desperate effort to throw off one of the men, to get one arm free; but they succeeded in clinging to him and holding him down, comicbooks. com