Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 168: what you’re looking at

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

o-- ~—— -_--— SPRING-HEEL’D JACK * Here it is,/sir.””. ) “Thank you,’ said Jack, taking the paper, and holding it to the cigar, which still burnt with a red glow. c “Hallo! is that my horse moving? Confound him ! he starts off at a moment.” Flinging down the paper, Jack sprang round the stall as if to stop the animal, and seizing the other end of the rope, quickly tied it to one of the springs of the vehicle. “He's all right, sir, ain’t he?” said the man. “ Yes, he’s all right enough; but I know what he is, and am obliged to be cautious.” “Very right, sir.” Jack took up the cup, and made a pretence to drink; but as the man turned his face at the sound of a footfall on the pavement, our hero emptied the beverage into the road. ‘« Here, old *un, just give mea cup of coffee,” _ said a bleared-eyed fellow, coming up to the fire. “Well, my friend, Ill be off,’ said Jack, springing to the box of the vehicle, as the old man commenced drawing off the required coffee for his new customer. The old man shut the coffee off quickly, and laying down the cup on the board exclaimed— ‘IT beg your pardon, sir, but you ain’t paid me.” “Right,” said Jack ; “‘Lhad forgotten. Here, catch.” Jack flung the coins, which he had wrapped up in paper, towards the old man, who caught them in his hands. | , “ Here, what’s this ?”’ he cried, thinking at once that Jack had wrapped bad money in the paper to cheat him. ‘“ What’s this?” A touch of the whip, a movement of the horse, and, with a smash and a crash, over went the coffee-stall, knocking down the bleared-eyed individual, and causing the old man to over- throw his pot of fire on to the pavement in his fricht and hurry to get out of the way Away went thecoach, and clatter—bash—crash went the stall after the vehicle down the Har- row-road, : Bump—thump and at every yard leaving some portion of the wreck behind it, till only the upright, to which the rope was fastened, adhered to the coach. Lashing the horse to its utmost speed, away Jack went, laughing loudly; while from the interior of the vehicle rang out loud cries of ‘Murder !” and behind him, in tones of grief, the old man shouted and raved like mad at the wreck of his stock-in-trade, and only means of a living. CHAPTER LIX, THE COACHMAN’S TERROR AND JACK’S DELIGHT— AN UNPLEASANT POSITION. Away, with the vehicle swingins from side to side, and the upright of the old man’s coffee- stall at every yard thumping against the panels of the back of the coach, went, the vehicle along the Harrow-road. . | uy The:driver, awoke from his sleep by the crash of the old man’s stock-in-trade, alarmed by the noise, and scarce: Knowing where he was, he did THE TERROR OF LONDON. - | what might have been expected — _— — ~- - —_— - — —__ 2 4 G would do, scream lustily for help, and hold on like grim death to the door of the coach. | Gradually the power of thought came to him, and recollecting where he last was, he came to the conclusion that his horse had ran away. What was to be done ? That was the next idea that took possession of his mind. , It was a question he found it somewhat diffi- cult to answer. x hy ES If he could get hold of the reins, he might stop the mad career of the animal, ere he dashed the vehicle to pieces ; for he felt sure, from the. continued thumping at the back of the coach, that a portion of it at least was a wreck. == But how could he get at the reins ? To attempt to leap from the vehicle would be worse than madness. | It would be suicide. To remain was to be dashed to atoms. He was sadly perplexed and bewildered, ag well as frightened. So he sank back on the cushioned seat of the coach, and groaned aloud. a ; Then he yelled for help. ae Se But the noise hasnt his eries, and in utter —_ despair be resigned himself to his fate, whatever it might be. Where was he? What part of the metropolis was he in? That was another thing he could not make out. ) | He could see through the gloom that where- ever he was he was certainly not in Marvlebone. He was in some sparsely-inhabited spot; but wei east, west, north, or south, he could not tell. | d The speed at which the coach was carried along sent every object rolling past so swiftly” that he could not trace with accuracy an indi vidual thing. ae “It’s all owing to my being such a fool as to have anything to do with Spring-heeied Jack and his confounded games,’ he muttered. “I | wish he had been at the devil before I acceptet his offer to-night. Here Pve lost my fare, sk lose my coach, and perhaps my life into the bargain.”’ And then he groaned aloud in his anguish, and | clung to the window-frame in terror, as thump: —thump, thump, behind him made him believe - that the next minute he would be buried in the ruins of his vehicle. a > Knowing the man was awake, Jack ceased his | laughter, and applied the whip well to the horse’s- flanks. | ‘“ He’s compelled me to be driver,” he thoug it, Well, the old man “and Pll give him a ride. an has got rid of his stock-in-trade, and doubtless will not regret its loss when he discovers what the paper contains. He was not hurt by the fall of his structure, L saw that; but I won’t ap as much for the hang-gallows looking dog deprived of his coffee; and whom I saw go down among the ruins of the stall. Confound the- fellow! how he’s roaring. But there’s none here to be disturbed by his cries. E wonder no} whether he thinks Spring-heeled Jack .a first- rate fare? but hell forgive me, I know, when h “teat finds the note in his pocket; ‘but T must ‘have a Too ef OQ | GComiGgcneeo bby wt r a ee “S.€O | ; ; ;