The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

THE ROYAL GEORGE 19 ‘“That’s two against ten,’’ observed the Big Beggarman, gloomily. ‘“ And ten strong, sturdy fellers that don’t know what fear | is,’ added Joe Warren. ‘“‘ But this is only the dark side of the picture. The light side is more flattering than t’other is discouraging. In the first place, we must make away with the captain.” ‘““ That’s easy enow,” observed the Beggarman. ‘“ He has quite lost all his mistrust of us, and by waiting so patiently before we made up our minds to do anything or take any step, we’ve quite lulled asleep any suspicion that he might have entertained.”’ ‘““ You’re right there, Stephen,’’ responded the Magsman. ‘That he did look upon us in a very queer fashion at the beginning, is very certain, or else he wouldn’t have made us give up our pistols the first night we were on board the ship. But by degrees his fears wore off, and then he let us go upon deck the second day and chat with the sailors. Well, our first move, as we were saying, is to make away with him; and then we must serve the chief mate in the same manner. That’s not impossible to be done, as I explained to you yes- terday.”’ ‘But then we shall have eight sturdy mariners to deal with,” said the Beggarman. ‘“‘'They’ll be paralyzed when we tell them what we’ve done and what we mean to do,’’ rejoined Warren, in a tone of desperate ferocity. ‘“‘ After all,” he continued, at the ex- piration of a few minutes, during which a tremendous gust swept over the ocean and the vessel went careering down into the abyss like a maddened race-horse, then up the mighty steep of waters again at a far slower rate, “‘ after all, we ain’t the men to stand upon trifles, Stephen, and if it comes to the scratch, we must fight a bloody battle, even though the odds will be eight to two when the captain and first mate are put out of the way.” ‘‘ Ay, it won’t come to such a desperate combat, when we think calmly of the business,” said the Big Beggarman. “The men will knock under as soon as they see that their chief officers are gone and that we’re resolute. Besides, the hope of plunder and the excitement of the new kind of life which we shall propose to them — ”’ “That’s the very point which I rely upon,” ejaculated (GO) Anyi } KS {