The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

‘Fee THE MYSTERIES. “Along Pickled Herring Street,” she responded. In this throughfare the houses were all shut up ; and it was only whena light gleamed from some window, that Page could catch aglimpse of the principal features of the path which he was pur- suing. That the Thames was close by, he however knew, alike from his general acquaintance with London, and from the low moaning of the vast volume of water as it rolled onward in its mighty bed ;—and then it struck him how easy it would be for eyil-intentioned persons to assail, rob, and murder the defenceless individual in that lonely district, and dispose of the corpse in the river that was so near at hand.. Shuddering at this idea, he looked back to ascertain if any one resembling a constable was following: but the darkness was so intense that he could distinguish nothing even at a distance of three or four yards. At length the young woman stopped at the corner of Horslydown, which is astreet branching off to the right ; and, hastily seizing the arm of her com- panion, she drew him into a deep door-way, say- ing, “ We will remain here a few minutes, if you please.” “ But for what purpose ?” asked Page, astonished at the movement. “Hush !? whispered the Gallows’ Widow. A profound silence now reigned, disturbed only by the gurgling of the adjacent waters as they broke against the piles of a wharf: but in a short time footsteps were heard approaching, and the woman again caught the commercial traveller by the arm, to retain him in the door-way and impress upon him the necessity of keeping silence. Almost im- mediately afterwards, the form of a man passed the place where they were concealed; and it was easy to judge by his footsteps that he turned the corner into Horslydown. “We must remain a few minutes longer, if you please, sir,” said the woman, ina whisper so low that had Page been a foot farther off he could not have distinguished the words that were thus uttered. In avery short time another man passed the door-way, and likewise turned into Horslydown; and when the echoes of his steps had died away, the Gallows’ Widow again requested her companion to Stay a little longer in that recess. It now struck Page that the two men whom he had seen pass that way, were not altogether un- connected with the present adventure: in fact, he felt assured that they were constables on the watch. But almost simultaneously with this idea, the sus- picion flashed to his mind that the Gallows’ Widow might be waiting in that dark concealment to as- certain if her footsteps were dogged; and a cold trembling came over him as he contemplated the peris which he was encountering—the desperate character of the man whom he sought to deliver into the hands of justice—and the horrible neigh- bourhood in which he was pursuing this dangerous course. “What are you waiting for?” he suddenly de- manded of his companion in a whisper. “ Hush !—more footsteps are approaching,” was the prompt reply, also delivered in a tone barely audible. “But Ido not choose——” began Page, his ter- ror gaining upon him. “Silence—or I will blow your brains out!” was | the low, but hasty and emphatic rejoinder: and at _-_-_—_oOoOoOe FC CF eo -—— — le a eee 2) the same time the commercial traveller felt the cold muzzle of a pistol touch his cheek. An appalling consternation seized upon him; and had he not been leaning against the wall in the deep door-way, he would have fallen to the ground. Another man passed along thestreet, and turned into Horslydown. “We will remain alittle longer,” said the woman. “ But if you dare move or make a noise, I shall in- stantly suspect some treachery—and I will puta bullet into you with as little ceremony as if you was a mad dog that had bit me.” As she spoke, she withdrew the pistol from its alarming contact with the commercial traveiler’s face: but at the same instant its ominous click fell upon his ears, as if to warn him that the Gallows’ Widow did not waste her words in idle threats. He was horror-struck at the ferocious character which the woman had thus displayed so suddenly. Her pale, pensive, and even mild countenance ap- peared totaliy incompatible with such a daring and desperate spirit;—and her manner was so reserved and subdued that it seemed impossible for her dis- position to arouse itself to such a terrible energy. While Page was making these reflections, which stole upon him in spite of the alarm that he now ex- perienced, nearly ten minutes had elapsed; and during that interval not another soul had passed along the Street. “We will go now,” said the Gallows’ Widow at last. : They accordingly emerged from their place of concealment, and turned into Horslydown. Page was more than half-inclined to give his com- panion the slip and rush away as quickly as his legs might carry him: for he did not at all admire the circumstances which had just occurred. But no sooner had the thought of escape risen up in his mind, when innumerable reasons suggested them- selves against it He dreaded the wrath of Mr. Hodson—he feared to lose his employment in that individual's service—he longed to gain a share of the reward for capturing Joe the Magsman—and he trembled lest his formidable female companion should send a bullet whizzing after him, were he to raise her suspicions by attempting to decamp. But he was still balancing which course to pursue, when the woman suddenly observed, “ Here we are ;” —and as she pushed Page gently on in front, he mustered up all his courage and entered the noto- rious boozing-ken. ——= CHAPTER VIII. THE BEGGAR’S STAFF, In a long, low, and ill-lighted room, a number of men and women were seated at tables, some of them engaged in eating their suppers, and all having drink- ing materials before them. Though the weather was so cold without, an in- tense heat pervaded this place: for at one end was a fire which blazed from an enormous kitchen-grate half-way up the wide-mouthed chimney. ‘The cloud of tobacco-smoke which spread like a haze through- out the apartment, and appeared to hang like a mass of dingy drapery to the ceiling, augmented this heat, and produced a stifling sensation in Page’s throat, The vapour appeared to be of a darker hue in cor nS, Com Clooolkks. conn