Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE, But in his lack-lustre eyes thera came occasionally a fitful gleam, that told Wild by his cruefty and persecution had lighted up the fire of insanity in his brain. ee ee a NO RN Re carer gee ee 59 The chains which had so long cramped his limbs fell on the floor of the cell with a jingling sounc & ‘* Summon to your aid,” said Jack, as he led mir wsar- Jack strove by speaking softly to reassure the trembling } maduke towards the door, ‘summon to your aid ail the peing before him. é¢ is your name and title, accept all the assurances that I can give that from me you have nothing to fear.” © Wear—fear!” “Yes,” said Jack, in louder tones, “ nothiag to fear from me. Your enemy you have seen me overcome. He lies there bereft of power to do you harm.” Re-assured by Jack’s words, Sir Marmaduke rose to his feet, and looked intently in the direction in whic» he pointed. Jack held the lantern so that its beams fell chiefly on Wild’s body, which they lighted up with a horrible dis- tinctness. For some moments Sir Marmaduke gazed npon his per- secutor in silence, and then in a strange, hoarse, trembling whisper, he spoke. is words seemed to be more.addressed to himself than to his rescuer. ‘*Can it be true that he is dead at last?” he asked. “Can it be possible? No,no. He is not dead yet—he never will die. Fiends like angels are immortal ! ” CHAPTER XI. JACK SHEPPARD DESPAIRS OF AGAIN SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY. Tuts thought was quite a novel one to Jack, and he glared at the speaker with considerable astonishment. “IT don’t think he’s dead, myself,’ he said, after a pause; “and I sincerely hope he is not. I have already quite enough to answer for, without that.” Sir Marmiduke advanced as far as his chain would allow him, in order to obtain a nearer and a better view of his arch enemy. He could scarcely believe it was really him who lay there so powerless. ‘“T should be very sorry to have his death at my door. But come. If he is moveless now, he will uot long remain so: If we are to escape, our measures must be taken promptly. There was something magical, one would think, ig the pronunciation of that one word escape, for it had an effect which probably nothing else would have had. It called into cae all the latent energies Sir Marmaduke pos- sessed. “Escape! escape!” he cried, wildly. “‘ Who speaks of escape? That is music. The sweetest music ever drank in by my ears.” ‘YT say escape!” said Jack, who had chivalrously de- termined not to leave the poor baronet behind him a prisoner. “I say escape! Rouse yourself! Shake off the vapours that obscure your brain. I will lead you to “reedom !”’ ‘“‘ But my fetters,” cried Sir Marmaduke. “J am held fast here by a chain which would require a thousand times wy strength to snap asunder.” - “We will soon put that right,” said Jack, cheerfully. ‘S Very soon— owl see! It locks, I suppose.’ b Yos—yes.” | ‘ “Then you may depend somewhere about Wild’s per- son is the key that will unlock it. I will find it and set tou free from that, at all events.”’ « Jack, as he spoke, knelt down beside Jonathan, and, after a brief examination of his pockets, brought out a mall bunch of keys. Carrying them constantly in his pocket had 8 t.em a high degree of polish, and they glittere in the lamp beams. ‘* Here you are,” said Jack, as he rose, “ Jonathan won't iven to faintly ircumbrance. 4 rortion of his fetters where the lock was situated. ‘Jack had to make a good many trials before he found the right key. They were nearly all small enough to go in the lock, but they would do no more. At length, as he took the keys regularly ona after the other, he came to the right one. . Lhe bolt went back with a snap. v/ike up just yet. Now, I will soon free you from that | | With eager haste t!:2 poor prisoner held furward that | strength you possess, for, rely upon me, you have need of ic Marmaduke Osborn,” he said, “ for snch I gather |it. Let the thought of so speedily rejoining your wife | and children, of whom you profess to be so fond, nerve you to the utmost. You can defy the villain Wild now, and all his power. When you are once at liberty, you can take such steps as will enable you to successfully elude his fiendish malice. Come, come!”’ * T will, my kind preserver,” said Sir marmaduke, who was rapidly recovering from the shock his mental system had sustained. ‘“ Be patient with me, my young friend, for young I perceive you are. It will not be possible for you to form any conception of the agony of all kindsI | have gone through. Do not wonder that, with starvation superadded, J am the weak, miserable creature which you | see.” | ““T can imagine easily, from my short sojourn in the | adjoining cell, what you must have endured.” | ‘You, too, then, were brought here a prisoner by that monstrous villain, Jonathan Wild ?”’ “* T was.” “But you luckily escaped before the dampness of the § dungeon sapped your hfe-springs. ‘To see me now and to have seen me as I was a month ago, you would never | believe it was the same being.” ‘© A month ?”’ **Yes, such I believe is the time I have been incarcerated ! here, though to me it has seemed more hke an eternity than thirty days.” “The time limps along but sluggishly under such cir- cumstances.” ‘“‘ It does—it does, indeed. But, my young friend, my brain is confused; let that be my excuse for not having earlier attempted to find werds wherewith to express the gratitude I owe you. Believe me 1”— “ Don’t say a word on that score,” said Jack; “ I have as yet done nothing except recovered the deed to which you, in a moment of weakness, affixed your signature.” ‘*Ah! that deed of exheredation! Where is 1t? where is it? You have it, do you say?” The manner in which these words were jerked out rather than enunciated testified to the anxiety of his heart. “Tt is here,” said Jack, as he thrust the paper he had taken from Wild into the baronet’s hands; ‘Do not stay to look at it now,”’ he added, as he saw he was about to unfold it, “put it in your pocket.” “Why not destroy it?” ‘You ean do so if you wish; but think what an 1m- portant link it will be in the evidence against Wild.” ‘You are right, my friend, it will. You are youthful in appearance, but you have the wisdom of age. | will keep the deed.” ‘Do so, sit; but be careful not to lose it. You would find it an awkward matter for yourself were it to get into inimical hands.” _ ‘Tt would, indeed. There, it is quite safe now.” ‘Yon speak much better than you did.” “Oh! yes.” ‘That is well.” ‘J am much stronger. What you have said and done has reinvigorated me toa greater extent than I believed possible.”’ ae h ‘Tam most glad to hear it. But come, it1s time we left the precincts of this place. Let me go first. I shall then be able to assist you to reach the passage.” _ | «Thanks, my friend. But have you no name by which I ean call you?” ‘‘Oh! yes; mine is a very common sort of name. “ Let me hear it. It will always afford me pleasure to pronounce it. What is it?” “* Jack.” John what ?” “No, not John; but Jack, plain Jack.” “But you have a second name ?”’ ** T suppose I have.” “Then tell it me. Juctance at doing so ?”’ ‘* T don’t know, I’m sure, and now let us be off.”’ Jack Sheppard P” Why do you manifest so much re. but my name’s Jack Sheppara, JOOKSNEC