The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

a ee en a ee TS ASSP EASNERSEnsEE® senses TRE wtETERIMD. want: because I have seen enough to convinee me _ ru,ted by thrusting his head forth from the wia- that he is favourably inclined towards the bafonet— | dow to see ifthe yelluw coach was in sight,—he sald, and there’s no saying how he may find means of , “J suppese you.are constables from Aylesbury?” pending him notice of what's going on, should we fail in capturing the villain to-night.® they went in company with Page, whose sense of duty towards society was wonderfully sharpened by the reward offered for the apprehension of Sir Richard Stamford. Close by there was a hdckpey-coach stand : and the commercial traveller walked straight up to the waterman, and put a crown into his hand, saying, “ My good fellow, » gentleman in a cloak took a vehicle here a few minutes ago—] am sure he did: now, where did he order the driver to take him ?” “All right, sir—Edgeaware Boad,” replied the waterman, joyfully pocketting the welcome gift. “"T was a yalier jarvey——" “ Look alive, then!” interrupted the active Mr. Page, as he sprang iato a coach the door of which he hastily opened himself; and the constables hav- ing tumbled in after him, he exclaimed, * Edge- ware Road—and a guinea for the jarvey if he eatohes up the other vehicle.” This exciting promise was instantaneously com- municated to the driver by the waterman, who in equally succinct terms gave such information es enabled that functionary to comprehend which goach i¢ was that was now to be pursued: and away went the equipage at a rattling pace. “I¢ wasn't a bad dodge of mine tocommence in- quiries at the ooach-stand,” observed Mr. Page to the constables, as they roiled along towards Oxfard Street: “for may I be hanged if I knew what direo- tion she fagitive took when he quitted the hotel.” “@Qhi then be was at the George—eh ?” ex- claimed one of ihe constabl@,; and tarniug to his comrade, he said, “So you see onr information was right, Bill, arter all. But how was it, air,” he con- tinued, again addressing himself to Page, “that you didn't coliar him, if eo be you twigged him there?” “I oan agsure you that my palms liched to olatch him,” replied the commercial traveller: “but I wasn't certain that he wasreally the man, aud I was feasful of getting myself into a serape by seising the wrong one. Assault, battery, false imprisonment, defamation, god all that sort of thing, yon know, kept rising up in my mind and resigaluing ‘my. arm.” “Lord bless ye, air, if we was to.be ou’y half so partiokier as that, we should never dono bisness,” said the constable: “should us, Bill Sneesby ?” “ You're about right, Mr. Grint,” responded the individual thus blandly appealed to. “ Our vay is to knock folks down fust and take ‘em up arterwards. If so be we've nailed the right uns, thca there's no harm done: but ifso be we've got the wrong sow by the ear, we apologises—and there's an end 0n’t.” “ And suppose that ia this last case,” observed Mr. Page, “the innocent persons whom yon've treated so roughly, don’t choose to be satisfied with an excuse ?” “Then we locks ‘em up for interfering with us in the execution of our dooty,” was Grint’s promps reply. “ Ah! I understand,” exclaimed the commeseial traveller, whose opiniva of the morality ofthe two eoustabies was nut impioved by this avewal:s wish- ing, the refure, to chauge the conversation,-- which we should observe, he hud himself frequently inter» “ Just co, cir,” replied Gring: “and on coming up te town fast now, we happened to meet a friend of © “ All right,” returned the officers: end away our’n wot lives at Aylesbury and had been in Lou don for the last w-ek or s0. Well, we gat into taik together—and then we had summat to driak--and it was nat’ral enough that me and my partner here should tell him all about Sir Richard, ‘cos he hadn't heard a word.on it afore: as how should he? eesing that it on’y happened last night, and ea matter of forty mile awey from tewn. Well, sir, after he'd recovered hie-eelf a -bit—for he was struck quite a es ohe may eay-—he says, says he, ‘ Mr. Grint, if ever I eee Sir Richard Stamford in ali my fe, I saw him euly @ few minutes before I met you. He was in his cloak; and he turned into thé George and Biue Boar, Holborn.’—This was quite enough for Bill Sneeeby and me; and it was fortunate we hadn’s told our Aylesbury friead aboat ‘the re- ward—or else he'd have wanted to go sheers———” “Here we sre at the Edgeware Road!" suddenly cried Page: then thrasting hie head out of the window, he exclaimed to the driver, “ Pach along, my man— don't your horee-flesh! Do you see anything of the yellow coach yet?” “ Nothing, sir,” was the reply. Page still kept his head out of the windows and he strained his eyes to the utmost as he looked up the road. The night was moon-lit, the was of silvery clearness, and all was the sheen of the frost—so that he could dieting eh objects ata considerable distance. Suddenly the coachman uttered an cfacalation. [ and at the same inatant the commercial -traveiler caught sight of a vehicle a quarter of a mile a-head. “That's it, sir!” exclaimed the driver. “ There— it’s crossing over from one side of the road to the tother— most likely on account of the @int- stones—" “I see—I see!” interrupted Page, who at that moment got a glimpee of the yellow side and wheels of the coach. “ Pash along, my fine fellow! You'll earn your guinea yet!” “ And us the hundred pound reward, sir,” added Mr. Grint, in a tone of satisfaction as lively as it was in his stolid nature to render it. “'Why—thay’re a stopping, sir!" ejacalated th: driver. “I s’pose they're a- waiting fur us to cow. up with ’em—" “No sach thiug!” cried Page, who was hangin - half way out of the window, and straining hie-eye . to the full extent of their visual powers: “ tl - villain has just jumped out of the coach——~yes— ‘tis he, by heaven !” “A tall man in a cloak, sir?” exclaimed th: driver, without turning his head, but whipping bi. horses furiousl y. “Yes—to be sure!” cried Page. “I :aw hiv as plain as possible: he cut across the road——u,- those houses on the left there——” “ And now the yalier jarvey is tarning sound :..' oom beck-again,” said Mr. Gript, who wae gazin.: from the other window. This last pieces. of information was perfectly truc ; and:in a couple of minutes the ‘twe vehicles m<: The one containing the eonstables aud Page.pulle : up—and the yellow eoach fellewed the exanupl . Out sprang the commercial travciier frum we a SS SS a CO, ECOMICOOOKS ©) CO