The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

20 THE COURT OF LONDON the Magsman. “ But let us still look at the worst. With arms in our hands, friend Stephen, there ain’t two more formidable fellers on the face of this earth than we are — ”’ “ Well, I rather think not,’’ interrupted the Beggarman, complacently. ‘‘ And as to getting the weapons to use in case of necessity, there won’t be much difficulty on that score, for the captain always carries pistols secreted about him. That we know for a certainty.” ‘* And there’s always half a dozen cutlasses on deck, around the foot of the mainmast,’’ added the Magsman; “ for though the captain’s suspicions have been lulled asleep, as you ob- served just now, he hasn’t omitted the necessary precautions in case we should suddenly show our teeth. But his pre- cautions will be our safeguard: that is to say, we shall know where to lay our hands upon weapons at the proper mo- ment. After all said and done, I sha’n’t be sorry, in the long run, that the nobleman, whoever he was, played us this infernal trick. The first night we came on board, when I opened the letter which I expected was to contain bank- notes for the fifteen hundred due to me, I was cursedly savage to find that it was a bill payable in New York only.” ‘‘ And I wasn’t best pleased when I opened my letter at the same time and found the same thing,’’ observed the Beggarman. “ It was a deuced good plant to compel us to go out to America and reconcile us to our fate in that respect. But we’ve hit upon a plan that’ll upset all the nobleman’s fine schemes,’ added the ruffian, with a horrible chuckle. “‘T should think so indeed,” exclaimed the Magsman. “We'll not only get our fifteen hundred pounds each in New York, but we’ll also get the ship and everything in her. The cargo must be worth some thousands. And, therefore, as I was saying just now, I’m not so particularly sorry, after all, that his unknown lordship has tried this plant upon us. Had we received our money in good bank-notes upon coming on board, and if no restraint had been put upon us, we should have quietly left the ship again and stepped back on British ground, contented with the cash we’d realized. But now the treachery practised toward us has instigated us to treachery likewise, and there’s more than one person that’ll be made to rue the — ” Here the Magsman’s voice was drowned in the roar of the COMIC OOO S (CO)