The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 238: what you’re looking at

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

THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. 235 ‘‘Do you? Then, perhaps, you will be so kind as to commu- nicate to me the information.” ‘‘Not yet; it’s a secret I can’t tell you yet; but some of these days I'll bring her home to you, never fear. By the bye, J-——” “‘Stop, Rafferty. Yll make any wager you like with you that you won't find her.” ‘‘ And so will L” said Henry. ‘‘ You will just go blundering about as usual, Rafferty, and far from finding her and restor- ing her to us, no doubt you will make vourself as ridiculous as you did when you hid yourself in the willow-tree.” ‘* And fell into the water,” added the captain, ‘‘ while Mabel was carried off before your very eyes.” ‘‘ Aisy—aisy! What's up now, that a poor fellow is to have his misfortunes thrown in his teeth in a handful in that way? Now, Ill confound you both. You want to fiud Mabel. Well, you want to find that thief of the world as took her from us all good. Now, sometimes I can do a pair of things at once, and sometimes it ain’t convenient at all—at all.” ‘‘If you do one we shall be satisfied.” ‘*Then it’s done,” said Rafferty, assuming a cool and indif- ferent air. ‘‘I haven’t found Miss Mabel exactly, yet, but I have found the other fellow ?” *¢ ‘What other fellow ?” ‘‘ Why, the fellow that took her away. Match that, if you can. Bedad, and you'll find itmighty difficult to get the better of Ratferty Brolickbones, You'll need to get up early, you would.” | ‘‘ Well,” said the captain to Henry, ‘since Rafferty, then, puts us upon our mettle to match what he has done, I don’t see what recourse we have but to do our best.” “* Certain] y—none other,” said Henry. ‘Then perhaps you will step up-stairs and ask our dear Mabel to come down and speak to this fellow Rafferty, who pretended to take such care of her, and then got into a tree, while he let her be carried off by Heaven only knows who.” CHAPTER XLV. To describe the effect of these words upon Rafferty is far be- yond our power. He stood as if he never intended, on any ac- count, to shut his eyes again, and he bent forward in an attitude of listening, as if he might well, and actually did, doubt the evidence of his own senses. Both Henry and the captain were much amused to see such an aspect of intense astonishment upon his countenance; for he generally made a sort of boast that nothing surprised him. Oh, no, he was too old a soldier for that, and had seen too much of the world, etc. But now the tables were turned completely, and instead of him, Rafferty, causing all the astonishment, he was completely outdone by this cool acknowledgment that Mabel was actually in the house. ‘* You must be after saying that again, sir,” he said, comicbooks. com