Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 104: what you’re looking at

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

Siders a A ee ee ee 98 reader, his only brother died, leaving a motherless daughter of fourteen to his care, and a sum of money sufficient to recompense him for trouble, education, and food ; and also a thousand pounds to be handed over to her when she came of age. “Had Martha Scrivener’s father died without means, her uncle never would have taken her to his home. A workhouse had certainly been her portion, but her uncle Jerard found, by calcu- lation, that he could save at least fifty pounds a year out of the money left to keep and educate her, and have a servant to wait upon him for nothing, so he made no demur to being the cuardian of his niece. : But Jerard never liked her: she eat too _much, was extravagant in her habits, wanted clothes too often, and in fact wished to live as a girl should live, and consequently, as he dared not quite starve her, he came to the determina- tion to reimburse himself for his great outlay, by keeping the thousand pounds she was entitled to at the age of twenty one, when his guardian- ship was supposed to end. It was seven years of misery for poor Martha Serivener, and she looked forward with hope to the day when the guardianship of her uncle should cease, and she could do as she pleased for herself, . | She knew that she was entitled to a sum of money then, though she was not aware of the amount, nor possessed any deed or title thereto. Her father was a generous-hearted, upright man, and looked upon his fellows as the same, | - so that it cannot be wondered at that he placed the fullest confidence in his own brother. But that confidence was abused, and when Jerard’s guardianship came to a close, he sent his niece Adrift without a penny. | Entreaties were unavailing, and as time wore on, her stock of apparel, which had always been scanty, was disposed of for food, till at length she was reduced to absolute starvation. How she had existed for months before our hero met her, it would have puzzled even herself to tell. | Appeals for assistance to her uncle had been made. At the workhouse she had been referred back to the miser, till ruined in mind, ex- hausted in body, she only longed for death to come to put an end to her existence. On the day following the night when Jack had relieved her necessities with a few gold coins, a gentleman had been making various enquiries about the neighbourhood with respect to the owner of the large house—large for that neighbourhood at least—and what he learned evidently did not give him a very favourable opinion of its possessor. The rushlight, or rather half of one, was spreading its dim light through the sleeping apartment, when a tall figure, cloaked and masked, vaulted lightly through the window, and took up a position on the foot-board of the bedstead on which the miser lay. It, was none other than the gentleman who made the inquiries in the neighbourhood, and the hero of our story. | He had learned enough to know that the woman’s tale in substance was correct, and he eT TET) CCC CO : - ' , 7 © SPRING-HEEL D JACK: THE TERROR OF LONDON. cried. —- — = — determined to frighten themiiser, if possible, int? relieving her necessities. ~~ os, nie Hence it was that he was now in his chamber sitting on the footboard of his bedstead with the faint glimmer of the halfpenny rushlight, making his hideous mask and cloaked form looking more hideous than usual. “ Old men sleep lightly,” he ‘muttered to him- self, *‘ especially if their conscience pricks them, so it will take little to wake the miserly old vVallam.?) 9 “Hid, 5 He put his boot down, as he concluded, upon the ankle of Scrivener... The old man half sete — — arted tp, in bed. ae i; His eyes encountered the strange figure at its | foot, and a cry of alarm broke from his lips. 7 But he appeared powerless to raise his body higher or permit his head to fall back on his ¥ uP r+ =4¢ pillow. a eh Jack enjoyed his terror for several moments, then holding his hands out-hbefore his face, he said, im his assumed, hollow tone— “Glad to see you, Jerard Scrivener.” ), ‘¢ What—what are you ?” gasped the old man, “Oh! I’m the fiend that looks after misers, money-scriveners, brokers, and the robbers of the fatherless,” said Jack ; “and I’ve just paid you ~ a visit to make you disgorge the money of which you've robbed your late ward.” ‘© Money ?” cried the old man. ‘* Money! I’ve got no money ; I’m now very poor.” ea “‘ Jerard Scrivener !” “* Y es—yes.”’ | Fc ek 7 LN “You're a wicked old liar!’ A deep groan broke from Jerard’s lips. a ie ‘“* Upon my soul, ’'m poor—very poor. Idon’t | know what to do for money, I’m so poor,” cried | the miser, his fear now being greater for his | gold than for the supposed fiend, who sat in such a strange attitude at the foot of his bed. _ ‘‘ Jerard Scrivener !’said Jack, “‘you are a miserable, contemptible old liar, and I warn you ‘hy not to attempt to deceive me. Iknowall your | affairs as well as you do yourself, and I promise you if you donot restore willingly to your niece © every farthing you have robbed her of, youshall . | not possess.one coin when the sunrisesover your | dwelling to-morrow.” lt The old man’s head now fell back witha heavy thud upon his pillow, and a groan, long and deep, rolled from between his lips. “Oh, Lord! Have mercy upon me!” he ‘ eli have none, Jerard Scrivener,” said Jack. | So come, if you would live and enjoy what | you have gained by your other villanies, surren- der that which belongs to your niece.” © “She ain’t got any—never had any!” cried the | miser. “ It’s that girl that has been the ruin of | me; she eat me nearly out of house and home!” “Wretch ! you starved her, and kept! her” money'!” said Jack. voF wt’ 3 “Upon my soul, :it’s’*—> | aj okt baa “Hold! Don’t attempt to play with me, old” | man!” said Jack, sternly, © 94 HY ott ¥. “ T don’t want to.” SH tor 6 ei HI PIO “You had better not! ‘Now, what? did her father leave her 2” tot (ety eh, “Not a penny.” etret ¥ (.) \ ’ i, ‘ <Ss_con \' ' “a 4 7% ws