The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 117: what you’re looking at

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

THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S YOUNG CAPTAIN. 111 *“< Prisoner 4:'meé.a prisoner?’ gasped Shanks, in pale surprise. “<VYes ; both of you.’ «But we can have bail)?’ “* That’ depends ; but not until ing. This way, please.’ . ‘‘ Tn less than five minutes Madame Jonathan and the tutor Shanks stood:side by side in the dock.’ after your hear- ““ Mr, Caspar jind old Giles were! the witnesses | against them, howe: * They were remanded,jand all bail vefused. ‘“‘ Madame Jonathan’s lawyer was indignant that bail was refused ; butit was all to no-purpose. - “The reason of this was that a small note had — been handed up to the judge by an inspector: of police, on which were these words: charges against the two prisoners. that bail be refused, or they may escape us.’ ” “Lor! bless my soul! How extraordinary!” said Mr. Schmidt, when he had heard all about the mysterious affair. ‘‘ It is astonishing to be sure ! So the young tutor was acquitted,eh? But have they traced the: real murderer yet?” “Oh! yes,” said the detective, coolly. ‘ They have got on the track of one of them ; but they don’t want to disturb him until they have got the other.” “Oh! Isee!” said ‘Mr. Schmidt,’ with a forced and uneasy smile, ‘‘ What cunning dogs ‘these detectives are! ‘So you were in court and heard all about it? How strange !” The ‘ballet then commenced, and both gentlemen were silent; but ‘‘Mr. Schmidt ” seemed to be very- unhappy and uncomfortable, and eyed his com- panion from time to time in a very doubtful and suspicious manner... - ‘e | CHAPTER XXXIX, OLD FLINT DOES NOT MUCH ENJOY THE BALLET OF THE “FAIRY BOWER”—JENNIE JACKSON, THE DANSEUSE, IS ENGAGED BY THE D2ETEC- TIVE—THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED MEET- ING WITH OLD JONATHAN. : DuRING the first part of the performance of the ballet called the.‘ Fairy. Bower,” Mr. Schmidt seemed for the most part absent-minded, and cared but little for what was going on. His companion, the detective, however, seemed to enjoy the spectacle immensely. oe He laughed, and grinned, and applauded so much that it fairly made old Flint wretched and supremely miserable. | “ How this talkative stranger does laugh and go on to be sure. Why is it that J can’t laugh?” he thought. “This all comes of having companions in your box. Hang him! I ‘wish ‘he was far enough from me ; his very hilarity makes my blood run cold. Who can he: be, I wonder? Certainly not any one connected with the law; and yet he seems to know a great déal about police-officers. Surely he can't be a police-oficer himself?” This thought made old Flint very miserable.’ He cast many inquiring side-long glances at his well-dressed, elegant-looking companion, ‘as he thought, | ‘“The devil ! no, he’s no policeman ; he’s got too much money for that, Look at his splendidly- fittirg clothes! Why, his finger-rings and watch cost more than a policeman’s Salary comes to in a twelvemonth, aye, more than he gets In three years,” He looked at the ballet again and again, ‘but did not seem to enjoy it, / Neither did he evince any inclination to leave the theatre, v3 ‘Serious | I would ‘wish | - ee pi mm RR aR a i i Ln ‘“ Capital \piece, ain’t it”? said the, stranger, in high glee;). ‘\splendid..performance., How. well ‘those, girls dance. to be suxe—such legs !.,There, look at her! What a graceful thing she,is!” “Yes, she is, rather,” said Flint, jwaith;a, wicked smirk on his ugly old face. | “JT shonldn’t mind if Iwas. introduced. to her ; she’s the ‘prettiest.of them all,?,said the laiwyer. “Tis the Jeasiest thing in jthe world,’ said. \the stranger. ‘If you like, we'll go'‘on)the stage/and get up a chat with her in the green-room,”’ “Go on the stage? It can’t be done.” “Oh, yes, it can. My name is Frank Fairplay ; and yours ?” “Schmidt,” “ Just.so.. Well, then, Mx. Schmidt, we .are somewhat strangers to each other. as, yet, but, if you don’t object, what say you ?). Shall\we go on the stage? Stay here a moment; I'll send. in my card to the stage manager, He knows me.” So saying, Frank Fairplay, as he called himself, left the box, and went round to the stage entrance, spoke two or three magic words to the manager, and returned to. his box again all radiant with smiles. | Arm in arm, he and Schmidt then left the box, and were soon on the stage, : This was the first time in all his life that old Flint gave way to such gallantry as to confront the whole,corps de ballet of a theatre, great or small. But the truth was Flint wanted excitement of some kind. Sleeping or waking, the thought of old, Ford’s murder disturbed his soul. 3 Besides all this, he had in some sort fallen in love with a poor but pretty ballet girl, who nightly performed there, and he had given way so far to his amorous feelings as to throw, her a, bonquet every night he attended, “I must have some excitement,” he thought. “it doesn’t matter how much money a man has, he can’t eat it. I will enjoy myself in my old age, and have a jolly good spree before I go on the con- tinent.” The pretty girl that old Flint’s eyes. fell upon, as it happened, was one of the sharpest and shrewdest creatures to be met with anywhere. She was poor, it was true, but virtuous, and no man living could hold up his finger and say that Jennie Jackson was any man’s sinful plaything, « She had good limbs, an excellent figure, and a handsome face. This was all her fortune in the world, and it was not for choice so much as from necessity that made hher thus exhibit herself nightly to the admiring gaze of an applauding audience. When old Flint had sidled up to’ her ‘she walked away with a proud, indignant air at his ogling and smirking, and again did'the old lawyer try on his seductive scheme ; but all to no purpose, ' Jennie would not listen to his envenomed tongue, but treated him with the indifference she’ had always exhibited to wealthy strangers, who, as she knew, looked upon the green-room and the stage a market-places where virtue could be bought andsold, The ‘elegant Frank Fairplay, however, “had his eye,” as he called it, on all the clumsy 'manceuver- ing of old Schmidt. There was'not an action that escaped hiseagle eyes When Jennie was alone, and old Schmidt out of sight,-Frank Fairplay approached her, and whis- pered in her ear a few words. | The girl seemed astonished, “None other, Jennie,” Comiclbool nl Conn