The Freemason's Daughter: A Novel — page 197: what you’re looking at

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

190 THE FREEMASONS DAUGHTER. That’s a good terrier of your’n, missus—I wish to goodness you would leave him here.” Not knowing what to think, the woman followed the dog into the inner room, and found him barking under the bed. The man had followed her with a candle; for the place was completely dark by day as well as by night. “Too late, old boy,” said the man, whistling and stooping down, apparently to call the animal from under the bed, but in reality to hide his confusion ; ‘the varmint has runto cover. Here—here! Whew.” And the fellow snapped his fingers to draw the animal away ; but Pepper, with the instinct of his race, had scented the person of his master, and was not to be drawn off, but continued to bark and whine the louder. “Call him away, missus,” said the man. “ It’s no use—he’ll not catch it.” Meg looked round the place: there was nothing but the bare walls and the low truckle-bed which marked the carefully contrived entrance to the inner cell. She peered under the bed—there was no one there. | “ After all,” she thought, “‘ it must have been a rat,” and she called the dog away; but Pepper refused to come, and she had to scold and coax him alternately, before she could-draw the faithful animal from under- neath the bed. ‘ Well,” muttered Flin, as the poor creature dis- COniiclooecl SS (SO