The Skeleton Crew; Or, Wildfire Ned — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

mn es THE SKELETON CREW; OR, WILDFIRE NED. 51 reece nnn nnn enna ce se SSS into the hall, and almost terrified out of his life, he bawled out, the parlor door in hand, “Vadies and gentlemen — Lord Smash and friends,” 4 CHAPTER XIX, MASTER TIM GHTS INTO THE HANDS OF SMUGGLERS, THE position of poor Tim, it must be confessed, was anything but pleasant, He had fallen into the depths below, but how, he could not tell, _ All he recollected, when he recovered conscious- ness, was, that he had fallen into a miserably dark and loathsome place, and not knowing how or which way to move, ‘Oh, lor!” he sighed. “Here’s a fix to be in, i sive a thousand gold pieces ii I were only out of it.’ ‘Would you?” said a distant voice. “Ha! ha! but, then, you see, you ain’t going to get out of it, my lad.” “Who are you?” said Tim, trying to pluck up all the courage he possibly could, “Don’t you know I’ve got a dagger left ?” ‘Yes, I dare say you have,” the voice replied. “But, if you had a dozen daggers, or a whole some at your back, they would do you no good ere; + At the same moment Tim felt a heavy hand laid upon his shoulder, and his limbs began to tremble. “What's your name, you shivering hound ?” said the gruff voice, with a chuckle, “Tim, sir, if you please.” “Tim what ?” ‘Tim Anything—Tim Nothing. I never had but one name ; ’tis only rich folks as can afford to have two,” “Come, come, no larking with me,” said the gruff voice, “ Speak honestly, or I’ll brain you.” “You're very kind and obliging, I dare say,” said Tim, with chattering jaws. “But, upon my word, I have only one name, and that is Tim.” “You're much different, then, to a young chap as we lately collared, and is now in our custody, for he boasts of four names.” “You don’t say so?” “But, I do, though ; you shall make his acquaint- ance shortly—you’ll make excellent comrades. Our hanging days are only once a month now, so you may as well make up your mind to ‘swing’ when he does.” ; “ Thank’ee,” said Tim, gloomily ; “you are very kind—very kind, indeed, But, if it’s all the same to you, sir, whoever are you? I’d rather be swung up the next month after him with the four names.” The unknown laughed gruffly until he made the cavern echo again with his boisterous merriment. “When were you born?” he asked. ‘I wasn’t born at all,” said Tim, innocently. “Not born at all? Why, the rascal is making fun of me,” . "Pon my word I ain’t,” said Tim. ‘I wasn’t born at all; leastways, not as I knows on, for old Sir Richard Warbeck found me in his stables one morning bright and early, and in them there stables I've been all my lifesince.”’ “ Sir Richard Warbeck, eh?” “Yes, Do you know him ?” “‘T should think I do,” said the unknown; “and a nice old fellow he is, too, He has two adopted nephews, hasn’t he?” . “Yes, young Wildfire Ned, and Charley Warbeck, who’s in the East India House in London,” ** Just so.” ‘And what brought you up that cypress tree ?”’ “Why, you see, Master Ned and I attacked the Skeleton Crew, and, as they were too many for us, I hooked it up the tree out of the way, and fell through the hollow trunk, and——” “Found yourself here, eh? Just so, But who told you there was any secret way into this cavern through that tree?” * No one,” “You lie, knave !” “On my word, no living soul told me.” “Not old Nettles, the landlord of the public: house ?” “No, he never breathed a word; but fought with the Skeleton Crew like a warrior,” “ That’s just what you should have done, and then I wouldn’t have made up my mind to hang you, as I may do yet, Are you sure that old Nettles never said a word ?”’ ‘I’m positive, and will swear it |” “?Tis well, for if he had done so I should be under the necessity of cutting his throat to-night so as to stop his mouth.” “ What a blood-thirsty villain !” thought Tim, “As you will, perhaps, be a dead man shortly, and as dead men don’t tell any tales, I don’t mind letting you know a thing or two as to who and what old Nettles is,” ‘‘ What is he?” ‘‘ Why, a tavern-keeper ; and something more at times,” said the unknown. ‘You have taken notice, of course, what a fine stock of wines, spirits, tobacco, and other things he has?” “Yes,”? said Tim, “it has been the talk of the whole country wide, as long as I can remember.” “ Quite true ; but he owes all his prosperity to me, young man,” said the gruff voice. “I could have blown him and his house up into the air many a time if I had thought proper. If he had divulged anything’about our secret I would do so even now,” Tim groaned. “This place where you are now in is a cave,” said the voice ; ‘a smuggler’s cave, mind you,” “ Oh, lors !” “And I am chief of the gang, From this spot there is a long, dry passage, which runs out into the beach at low tide.” ‘‘Ts the mouth of the cavern filled with water, then, at high tide ?” * Yes, nearly so; but there is sufficient room for an eight-oared boat to float in if the rowers duck their heads.” “How jolly convenient,” said Tim, who now began to like the chattiness of his unknown captor. “At night time we go out of the cavern in our long boats, and meet ships which are creeping close to shore; sometimes they are friends who come from France or Spain with smuggled goods, and sometimes they are strange craft. If they be friends we unload the vessel, and run up our boats into the cave again, then the vessel stands off shore until the next night, and so on until we have emptied her; but if she is not a friendly craft we act according to circumstances. Sometimes we seize her goods, if we are very short, and the articles are of any value; they can never find us out,” “ But did you never fall across any of the king’s cruisers?” said Tim, “Yes, many a time; but, lor’ bless yer simple heart, we don’t mind them, you know.”