Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 357: what you’re looking at

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

La A cI TT, OT a a A a A TD A ITA OTF Ti RS ep RE OP CON 4 "7 lee aii a BLUESKIN: A ROMANC} nat thought, and that they had once again got out into the streets. ; But so far from feeling any despair or anger in conse- quence, Jonathan only rubbed his hands over one another, and grinned in that disagreeable fashion which was so peculiarly his own. He had faith in the precautions he had taken. He knew what a many different eyes were at that very moment looking out for them, and that they could not go far withont being seen, and his receiving the intelligence of it. But, for all that, he resolved to keep up the pursuit. He would, however, never have succeeded in getting upon the traek at all, had it not been for the encounter with the watchman. ; The hubbub raised of course had the effect of attracting him to the spot. _ But by the time he arrived there, the fugitives were again out of sight. We know already that he did not overtake them. __ Cursing his want of success, Jonathan at last relin- quished the search. He resolved to wait for some intelligence from his spies to reach him. ; Accordingly he retraced his steps towards Newgate- street. But as that place was at some distance, he despatched one of his men for horses. He soon returned, and Jonathan and his mounted and turned their faces towards home. It was now early morning. The first rays of the coming dawn were just perceptible in the eastern horizon. By no means pleased with himself, Jonathan rode at the head of his troop. In accordance with his usual plan he took the most direct route back to his desination. Just as the sun was rising and casting his first beams of yellow light upon the different objects around, the thief- taker and his party arrived at a part of the road where a stream flowed underneath it, which was spanned by a rude and ruinous-looking bridge. Upon reaching this place the horse which Wild rode stopped suddenly, and reared in such a manuer as would have thrown a rider less practised than the thief-taker. But he maintained his seat, and struck the horse heavily. Subdued and terrified by the violence of the blow, the noble creature became more still. The remainder of the troop also came to a halt. Then looking to see what it was that caused this inter- ruption, Wild saw a few feet from him one of the strangest looking objects which conld possibly be imagined; and he ceased to wonder at the terror which his steed had mani- fested. Standing in the middle of the road was something Which looked not like an inhabitant o’ the earth And yet was on’t. By the garb which hung in tattering ribbons from her body, it might be conjectured that she was a woman. Her hair was silvery gray, and streamed behind her in the early morning light in a dense mass. It was so long as to completely cover the back part of her person. A rude kind of cloak was thrown over her shoulders in which two holes had been roughly torn, and through which a couple of long bare, bony arms were thrust. Her feet were in shppers, but it was easy to see that the whole of her apparel was of the flimsicst and scantiest nature conceivable. The age of this woman appeared to be very great. But then other causes besides old age might have con- spired to make her so withered, so thin, so haggard, and so witch-like. In her leit hand she held a slender twig, torn apparently from some hedge. r. For what purpose she carried it was a mystery, without she nsed it as a means of defence, but for that it seemed woefully deficient. ° And it was not long enough nor strong enough to serve as a support to her steps while walking. Her skinny and bare right arm she held extended at tight angles from her body. sang a as he generally was, had not been able to interrupt er. ward. full of spirit. 355 =a = The hand was clenched, and one finger was pointed in a sreuncings and threatening manner towards the thief. er. The other hand, which grasped the stick, she held aloft in the air aud pointed with it to heaven. Then, in terrible shrieking accents and with furioug gesticulations, which made even Jonathan Wild’s check blanch, she spoke. “Man of blood!” she said; “man of blood! you aro here to meet your fate. I knew you would come! [ dreamt o1 it, and you are here. You know me not, but I know you. Your deeds of evil are well known to me. But you are hurrying forward to your doom. You uro hastening to it with all the speed you can, instead of ilying and allowing it to overtake you! Man of blood! I warn you! I can see the end of all, and that end is not far dis- tant—much nearer perhaps than you imagine. I sce a scaffold—the triple tree at Tyburn. There is a huge and gaping crowd. I see them; they sway to and fro; they yell and howl as the victim for the day appears before them. I see his face—I see his face! It is the man of blood! It is Jonathan Wild, and they will hang him upon Tyburn tree, even as, years gone back, that same man of blood hung my husband. Oh! I see him, and the sight fills my heart with pleasure. His face whitens as the ordinary speaks, and his limbs shake under him so that he can hardly stand. Then I see the hangman; he grins derisively when he sees who is to be his victim. He holds the white cap in his hand—he draws it over the head of the man of blood! I see””—— So far Jonathan heard. But no further. All that had been said had been uttered with such extraordinary vehemence and rapidity, and the purport of her words was so peculiar, that the thief-taker, prompt to But now, with a yell of the most infuriate race, he struck his horse several sharp blows, and urged him for- The gallant animal which he bestrode was fiery and Ho swerved, and reared, and pranced, but yct all tho time he took his rider not oue step nearer to the object which had so excited his passion. Tho oid hag waved her stick defiantly, and with extended arms shrieked out more words of menace and abodance. But she could not make her voice heard above the din which the trampling hoofs of Wild’s horse created. But having said all she wished to say, and feeling most probably alarmed at the fury which the thief-taker exhi- bited, she waved her stick and sprang over the low stone parapet of the bridge into the stream. No sooner had the object which so terrified Jonathan’s horse been removed from its path, than it gave one tre- mendous bound forward and sped away ata terrific rate. _ In vain Jonathan pulled the rein and strove to check his headleng course. Terror had, for a time, made the aeieapinted but docile animal insensitie of all things else, lee oe CHAPTER CCXLIl. A GLIMPSE AT SOME PARTICULARS CONNECTED WITH WILD’S EARLY HISTORY. THE janizaries, who had one and all been much startled by this apparition and the words it uttered, no sooner saw Wild start off at the headlong speed we have deseribed, than they clapped spurs to their own steeds and followed as fast as they were able. Jonathan heard them thundering in his rear, and tho sound seemed to alarm his own horse afresh. In a very little time he found that all hopes of reining bim ia and checking his speed were at an end, so ho simply held tight, and did his best to steer him clear of obstacles. In this he succeeded, and, after a time, the horse quieted down, and once more became passive in his hands. Then Wild drew up, and for about five minutes swore in a most awful manner at his men. At the expiration of that time he ceascd, but only because he was compelled by want of breath to do so, GIVES @ (S) EO NOOKS 5}