The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 210: what you’re looking at

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

THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. 207 ‘*Tell us the secret, Giles; tell us the secret—it’s worth know- ing, anyhow, isn’t it ?” ‘¢ Well, Pil tell you. T put him up iu a sack; and then 1 put the sack on my shoulder, and carried it to a surgeon’s, who paid me handsomely for the body, and made no inquiries as to nee 1 came by it or anything else; so I made a good thing of it.’ At that moment, from some reason, and which the mendi- capt could not for his life control, he was compelled to sneeze in so loud and decided a tone, that it startled every one present. ‘*What’s that ?” exclaimed one. ‘<It’s very like a sneeze,” says Giles; ‘‘ and it strikes me it was a man, too; it’s a decided case in my opinion. There’s some- body more here than has been invited.” There was a look of consternation among all present, save Giles, who continued— | ‘It strikes me, mates, that somebody’s on the look-out, and somebody may be in the straw; what do you say to a search? It’s not the right sort of thing to be listening to a gentleman's conversation. I say, puil him out.” ‘Then that explains all about the jug, the beer, and the meat- ie, eh? There’s somebody about who knows more than we do; it’s dangerous, decidedly dangerous.” ‘¢Pull the straw over; see who it is; don’t stand staring like petrified pigs, but go into him at once! What’s the use of look- ing on?” Phe mendicant now saw he should be discovered, but deter- mined that he would make an effurt to escape by dashing through them, as soon as he found they had removed the straw, —no doubt he thought the onset would take them by surprise, and he should get clear off. He felt the trusses, one by one, pulled off, until he was exposed to their view. : ‘* Here he is!” cried one. Io an instant the mendicant made a desperate rush toward the door, and had almost succeeded in escaping them; but one of them placed a stick between his feet and he was thrown down, headlong, on the bricks. ‘‘That’s the plan,” said Giles; ‘‘lend us a hand, boys; one take a Jeg, another an arm, and then, you know, we can makea subject.” : In an instant the advice was acted upon, and four strong men pinned him to the earth by his four limbs. He could not move—it was hopeless; and yet he struggled fiercely for some minutes with such strength as only he possessed, but it was un- availing. **Eh, you warmint! so you were listening, were you? you want to make market of us, do you? but we'll make one of you, at all events.” | 5 ‘‘T had no intention of listening to you—I was asleep half the ime.” ‘‘ He knows too much; he has been here too long; he knows the house better than we do.” “It is a very good trap, though,” said one, “and very well comicbooks. com