Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 155: what you’re looking at

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

. * >. SPRING-HEEL’D JACK: THE TERROR OF LONDON. “Hallo!” he muttered; “who’s this? It must be the patrol, and doubtless he has heard at the cross road [ am about this quarter. I’ve no wish to fall in with the fellow; but there is no help for it.” In another minute a mounted patrol reined in his steed, as he called out, in a gruff tone— “ Who goes there ?”’ ** A man, to be sure,” said Jack. “ Yes ; and the one I want, or I’m much mis- taken.” “What do you want with me?” asked Jack, in a feigned tone of surprise. | The man urged his horse close up to our hero, and bending in the saddle, exclaimed— “You're the man !” é¢ Me ? 2? “ Yes.” “< What man ?” «¢ Spring-heeled Jack.” “ Am I?” *¢ You are.” “ How do you know that ?” “ By your mask.” “Oh! So you want me, do you?” said Jack, coolly. ¢ “ I do.”’ “ What for?” «Jo take you into custody.” On what charge? ” «¢ Several.” “ 'That’s a vague answer.” “Clear enough for you. But if you wish for a better, for nearly killing an old gentleman, and assaulting two men at the cross road engaged in burying the body of a suicide,” replied the patrol, placing his hand on one of the large pistols in his holsters. ‘“ It’s no use attempting to resist, Jack, and your jumping will avail you nothing. A bullet can leap farther than you can, and fly ever so much faster.” “Then if [I attempt to get away, you will shoot me ?”’ ‘“« Assuredly.”’ “Will the law allow you to do that?” asked Jack. “T think it will, if you resist it,’ was the reply. - Then, of course, it would be madness for me to attempt to fly.” “ Tt would.” Well, I suppose I must give in.” *¢ You had better.” “ T surrender.” “ That’s wise of you, Jack. It’s better to go quietly.” ““ Of course it is.” The patrol took his hand from his pistols with the intention of seizing Jack’s arm, which he intended to fasten to the horse’s trappings, when our hero stepped back and levelled his pistol at _ his head. “ Hold!” said Jack. ‘‘ I’m a good shot, and if you attempt to place your hand on your hol- sters, I'll take off your fingers with a bullet.” * Ah!” exclaimed the man. “ You will cry ‘oh!’ if you do not take my advice.” “ Do you resist ?”’ “ Capture, do you mean ?”’ Lira ty A —--—— *-Viesi?? ‘* Most decidedly. I have a great objection to being dragged to prison; I love freedom too much, my friend.” ‘* You know not the consequences of such an act as this.” ‘You are wrong there.” “Then you must be mad.” “IT should be to allow you to take me,” said Jack, with a grin. ‘Be careful, now. The moment you move your hand to the holster, off gO Es fingers.”’ he man drew back his hand, and placed it upon the hilt of his sword. As he drew it from its scabbard, Jack dealt the horse a kick in the stomach, which caused the animal to rear up so suddenly that the patrol was thrown violently to the ground. Slipping the weapon quickly into his breast pocket, Jack bounded away along the road with the speed of an antelope. He knew not whether the man was stunned or not by the fall; if not, he felt sure he would soon be in the saddle and in hot pursuit. So Jack made the best of his time, and strug- gled hard to reach the inhabited part of the road, believing that he could the better evade capture there than in the open country. “If I should be taken now,” he muttered to himself, as he ran, “ that villain, Grasper, would be persecuting this poor woman again, and I have every wish to shield her from his insults. What’s that? By heaven, the fellow’s in the saddle again, and in hot pursuit! Ill wager he has taken the precaution to take his pistols from the holsters this time ; and if he has, that fall will have so incensed him that I cannot expect much mercy at his hands. Flight is my only chance now.” It was evident that the patrol was coming on at a furious rate, and Jack redoubled his exer- tions to reach the row of houses a short distance ahead, ere he was overtaken. In this he succeeded, and bounding up he went over the garden wall of the first house, which was thickly covered on the top by broken glass bottles. However, Jack cleared them easily, and alighted safely in the centre of a bed of choice plants. “It’s too bad,” he muttered, ‘ to destroy people’s property like this ; but then my life is of more value to mé than a few flowers which can be replaced. He heard the patrol pass by the next moment at a furious pace. “‘ Escaped this time,” he said, as he looked around him as well as the darkness would allow him to see. ‘* Hallo! we should never hallo till out of the wood.” This last remark was called forth by the sudden ceasing of the clatter of the horse’s hoofs. The man had reined in his steed, and had risen in his stirrups, and was endeavouring to look over the garden wall, believing that Jack had taken refuge beyond it. Jack suspected this was what the patrol was after, and not wishing to be discovered, he hurried across the garden towards an outhouse he could discern through the gloom, and quickly got behind it. 157 —_ | — é - _ — eine — "171 wl, =