The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

re ne -—_—- -— 74 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. two beautiful doves of the carrier-breed.” One of these doves the amazonian lady took forth from the cage, and in less than a minute tied the little scrap of paper with the silken cord under its wing. She then opened her hand, and the messenger- bird flew out of the window, instantaneously disap pearing in the obscurity of the night. Meanwhile, in pursuance of another rapidly- whispered command from her mistress, Rosa had fastened the two sheets of the bed together, and had tied one extremity to the bed-post, which was near the casement. “ In two or three daysI shall be back again, safe “T saw some one, sir, gallop round from the | back of the house and bolt away like a shot,” an- | Se and sound. Don't fear; nothing can be done to | you—and your cousin John is unsuspected !” Having whispered these words, Lady Bess lost not another instant in passing herself out of the casement; and with wondrous agility and skill, she glided down the twisted sheets, so that with but a slight fall she reached the ground in safety. To hasten to the stable—put the saddle and bridle on the horse—and lead forth the noble animal, was now the work of but a couple of minutes ; then vaulting on its back, Lady Bess was borne away like an arrow shot from a bow. In the meantime Rosa had gone on talking iu the room in the same strain as before, and pre- cisely as if her mistress was still there. The two solicitors, who were out on the landing, failed not to catch most of what the woman uttered, although for delicacy’s sake they had not approached nearer to the door than the narrowness of the landing rendered necessary. All that we have described from the moment Lady Bess entered her chamber with Rosa, until she flitted away on the back of her noble steed, barely occupied a quarter of an hour; and that was no great length of time to examine a wound—wash it —fasten bandages on it—and allow for taking off and putting on those garments that it was necessary to remove and change. At least such was the calculation made relative to the lapse of minutes by the two lawyers. Yet, towards the end of the interval nawed, a feeling of uneasiness and a sense of misgiving began to creep into the minds of both. Not that they thought Lady Bess was too long in her chamber; but those continuous outpourings of lamentations, ejaculations, and comments on the part of Rosa, added to to the din she had created with the crockery-ware, struck them as being sus- picious.: for it all looked as if the woman were playing a part,—a part too which she was now overdoing. They were therefore just on the point of knocking at the door, and insisting upon Lady Bess coming forth, when they were struck withcon- sternation on hearing the sudden trampling of the horse’s feet as he was being led from the stable. “ By heaven, we are tricked ?” exclaimed Mar- low: and without ceremony he rushed into the bed-chamber, ‘The open window and the rope of sheets which Rosa was just dragging in, told the tale. “ Wretch!” cried Marlow, ‘‘you have aided your mistress’s escape! But you shall go to prison for her!” ‘Let her alone,” exclaimed Mr. Malton. “ We will punish the guilty one yet:"—and he rushed down the stairs, closely followed by his partner. “Why did you not stop her? Don’t you see that she has escaped?” cried Marlow, addressing himself fiercely to the coachman. ~ swered the coachman: “ but Low could I pussibly stop her? I scarcely knew who it could be till she was out of sight: and then it was only sus- picion, for she whisked by at such a rate.” “ True!” cried Marlow ; “ the window is at the back of the house—the stable also. Well, John, I was wrong to blame you. But now, what is to be done?” he demanded, turning to his partuer. “We shall be the laughing-stock of all London if we let her escape us thus.” ** Besides,” added Mr. Malton, “it is more than ever imperative that the outraged laws should be satisfied.” “ But what is to be done?” again asked Mr. Marlow, more excited than before. ‘* Depend upon it she means to get out of the country,” responded the junior partner after a few moments’ reflection. ‘“ I tell you what we must do. We will go on to your house, and snatch a few hours’ sleep—then off by the first trains in the morning—one of us to Dover and the other to Liverpool. France and America—these are the alternatives for this desperate woman !” “ Yes—that is our course,” returned Marlow. “T would not for a thousand guineas that she escaped us in the long run.” ~The two lawyers then entered the carriage, which immediately drove away to Mr. Marlow’s mansion, which was about a mile distant. CHAPTER XVIII. THE MESSENGER-BIRD, ! A LITTLE beyond Gravesend there stood a sinall public-house, in a somewhat lonely spot, though by the side of the main road. The landlord of this place, which bore the a of the Lancing Bear, was called Israel Patch, aid was a younger brother of the keeper of the boozing-ken in London. Not merely was he the brother of Solomon, but Israel was of kindred character and pursuits, — his public-house being the resort of all the desperate characters of the district, especially the smugglers belonging to the Thames and Medway. The Dancing Bear had long been the object of suspi- cion on the part of the local anthorities; but so cunningly had Israel managed matters, that he had never done any overt act, which could be positively brought home to him. Israel Patch was a widower, but had a grown- up daughter living with him to superintend his establishment. She was a woman of about thirty, remarkably ugly, and in every way of a character fitted to aid her father in his money- making and nefarious pursuits. Her Christian name was Rebecca; but she was universally known amongst the frequenters of the house by the diminutive of Becky. We must now observe that Israel Patch slept in a little room behind his bar on the ground- floor: but Becky slept in an attic quite on the tip of the house. This attic had no flat ceiling to separate it from tne sloping roof, but may be de- scribed as beiag covered only by the roof itseli— in plain terms, it was just beneath the tiles. On a flat‘portion of this roof there appeared a very CONNIELOOOKS (E(0)