Penny Blood Serial Cover — page 147: what you’re looking at

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

ALFRED DE ROSANN. 139 will explain the mystery. The Gendarmes say to themselves, ‘Where shall we look for this convict who has escaped, and who will make use of all his cunning to avoid encountering us 2’? ‘Not ina wood, the entrance of which is nearly on the very slope of the glacis,’ replies Common Sense: ‘the convict suspects that you would scarcely omit searching it throughout, and therefore conceals himself any where but there.?. Upon this the Gendarmes commence scouring the country, and never dream that the ob- jects of their investigation are scarcely three leagues from the town.”’ | “J must really compliment you on your fore- thought,”’ cried De Rosann. “Had I been by myself, I should have certainly acted differently, and have en- deavoured to place as great a distance between me and Brest, and that in as short a time, as possible.” ‘You were brought up a gentleman, De Rosann, and I a scamp—an adventurer—a good-for-nothing fel- low,’’ returned Belle-Rose with a smile: ‘ but the Gendarmes are seldom outwitted by the gentleman ; they can only be cheated by men that have had a Kt- tle experience in a certain way. Now, I dare swear, the other convict, who has escaped this morning, is ten leagues further from the town than we are: that is, if he be not an old hand. And in case my supposition is correct, he stands a thousand more chances of being captured than we do.”’ ‘Hark !”? cried De Rosann: “did you not hear something—a rustling amongst the trees ?”’ “Yes; but it is nothing,’ answered Belle-Rose without a moment’s hesitation, and without lowering his voice. “Fear changes the terrified pace of a rat or a rabbit into the trampling of a Gendarme’s horse ; whereas presence of mind hears sounds as they really anes De Rosann coloured at this rebuke; but he knew that he deserved it, and that Belle-Rose did not utter it maliciously: he therefore said nothing. ‘¢ We are now near the extremity of the wood, and CoOnniclooolkxs (C@ S|