Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 397: what you’re looking at

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

BLUEXKIN: A ROMANCE. —_weP Entering the shop, he chose a enit of plain-leoking | anceced in eapturing them to-night. Swenty ponndg each. elothes, and obtained permission to go into ® roora aud attire himaelfin them. When he emerged there waa a great difference pereep- tible and a decided improvement. Ie paid the clothes’ salesman from the puree wich he had just had given him. Blueskin’s next visit was to a coffes shop close by, where he made a hearty bnt homely meal, which di} kita a world of good and retreshed bisa mightily. 1 will'pet a bed here,” he thought. “Tam munch in need of sleep, and if I show myself by ‘daylivlt & om liable toimmediate discovery. 1 will wait till nigh’, and then I will see whether 1 cannot find a elue to ‘herr whereabouts.” This was as prodent and aenzililo a course as Le eould well adopt. Upon ingniry he found te conld lie dawn for a few hours, and accordingly he was sliown to a tolerally corm- fortable room. Ifere he enjoyed a reat, and remained antil dark. lfa did not wake up, in fact, until the different objects in the room were beyinning ta get confuscd hy the approaching darknesgs. {le sprang to his fect, feeling more like hirnaelf than he had done for a Jong time. Ile was rested both bodily and mentally. Before he left the bed-room he atid le himaelf plenti- fally in cold water, which invigorated lit gatil) morc. ‘Then he descended, paid the money he owed, and left the house. Ile had met with no distarbance yet of any kind, and therefore he very justly came to the conelnsion that he had not been seen by any of Wild’s apies, and lic liad only to continue cautions and all would he well. The first place to which Blneskin now directed hia font- atepa was, as the reader will guesa, Jonathan Wild’s house in Newgate-atrect. It was quite dark when he reached it. He stood on the opposite side of the etrect and glanced up at the gloomy dilapidated residence. As usual, nota ray of Jight came frorn one of the ema! and dust-begrimed windows, eo that a passer-by waonld have come to the conclusion that the dwelling was un- tenanted. There was nothing to be gleaned from the front of Wild's house. But while he thus etood in front of that rauch-creaded abode, he saw the door open. Instinctively Blneskin drew back into the shader af a deep doorway, which fortanately happened to be just behind hira. Upon the threshold appeared thrre formes, which, even in the distance and cbacurity, Pinoeekin easily recognized. One waa Jonathan Wild himself, His bulky-looking figure could not be mistaken. The other his eon George, abont whoge return Dine- | akin knew nothing, and whe conaequently was rauch gare | prized to aee him there, and apparently on the most’ friendly terma with the thief-taker, The third person waa (Quilt Arnold, wlo was now | made mach of by Wild, and considercd eecond in come | rand to hirnself, They don't core,” Bioeekin heard Jonathan pay in his deep growling tones, “What's the reason they don’t | J ea 32s eame ? They will Le here in a minute, if yon please, eir,” said Qailt Arnold, respectfully. At this moment the clattering of jiorsen’ hocla arozs clearly upon the night air. Fach moment the eonnd inereazed in londnesa, Then, with a endden dash, a troop of horversen, aornt | twelve in nurnher, polled ap with a dash before s¥=1'4 honse, There were two horgesa without ricerg. Then Blueskin heearmne aware that the thief-taker was abont to set ont npon one of hia night excurricana. What was the object of it, however, he could not tell. Jonathan and hia eon beth came out, areal mounted the two horges provided for them. ** Are you all here ?” aaked Wild, tarning round. Ae Forward, then; follow me. And] reesllect this. Thera is twenty pounds apiece fer every ona of you if you Forward,” With a rush, Jonathan Wild and his hand awept, by. Vhey went in the direction of St. Met ahe Bote, Vineeckin followed them on foot aa well ag he was able, and saw therm torn to the left np Aldersgate-atreet. What can that ber” he said. “Surely they cannot he prisonera, for who elze is there that Jonathan would Offer his men twenty pounda for the eaptore of @ No, it moat be Jack Sheppard and Edgworth a. They have, hy eome meana or other, claded them,and at thia mornent may be in a place of tolerable security. What abail I ‘lo? Geta horse and follaw Wild. JT ehoold think that will be beet. We may know just where they are, and then J shall be at hand to lend them my sasiatance in the hour of need” CHAPTER CCLXIT. BLULSKIN STOPS A POST-CHAISE, AND (1A3 A BSRANGE ADVENTUBF, Quite agnah of joy carne over Vineskin’s lieart at thia Genes for #0 he considered it, tliat Jack Sheppard and eworth [eas were not prisoncra in Wild’a house. The thief-taker and his hand went onwarda ata fant trot, and for [J]neakin to have atterapted to follow therm on foot would have been aimply ridien tng, Ag it waa, they were already alraost ont of right, This weald not de. He ranst keep cloge behind them, Lecanse, in al] prola- bility, they would gnide him to the exact apot where the Leiress and hee protector now were. To gave therm from cantare, too, he mast he close behind Wild and hia band. The neeesaty of having a horae waa quite manifest. Then Bineskin remembered that in St. Martin’s-le- Grand waaa livery stable, where perhapa le might lire a ntead, He went and tried, Ne was angwered in the affirmative, and thong there waa ng tirse lowtin getting the horse ready, yet it took a eonsiderable tima belore ne waa ready. On eraerging into the high-road, not the least asund could be heard of Wild and hia band. At this, however, Vilneskin was searcely surprised, Lecanne, aa he very well knew, they bad been Jong enoogh to go some diztance. Plunging hia epura into hia leres’a sides, be ant forward ata gallop. The horse appeared to be a good one, and get over the gronnd in capital style, That he waa fast gaining open thore of whorn le waa in puranit, Blacekin waa certain, and every now and then he would pause and listen if any sounds of their horses’ hoofs reached lis ears, Bot all waa etall, Bluegkin kept te the high-road, and it waa net ant” he had gone nearly ten railes that the thought occnrred te linn that he might have paased Wild and his men, in conse- qnence of their having taken some crows conntry road, He waa quite angry with himegelf to think he nad came on #A) blindly aa he had, Still lie did not feel inclined te tarn hack. After all, mngidering the start they had, the janizaries might be on the read before hirn, How waa le to ascertain thia ? Hersade up his rind to stop the next pagsenger or vehicle be might meet and question them. Searcely had he made up hia raind to thia effect than, before hira in the darkneea and distaner, he aaw two faint twinkling lighte, looking no larger and no brighter than Blara. “A vehicle,” he eanid. “Now I shall know. Dentt- leas, theaa who ocnpy it have come some distances along the read, and they will he able to tell me whether they have passed a hand of twelve or fourteen monnted men,’ With a better eyirit, Bineskin nos trotted forward to meet the approaching vehicle, and, before long, be could hear the grinding of ita wheels upon the read. The lighta, too, which procerded from the lampa on either side of it grew ranch bighter. At length he could distingnish the Larses which were horneased tn it. “Hoy!” he cried, ina load vaiee. “ Hoy! stop,” CONMUC <S (©)