The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

_— eee el ~ = ae _— —_— = - -_ - 7 - - = 3é the interview you have had, or the scene you have witnessed, not only will you lose your reward, but you shall find a sure and certain vengeance overtake - ere oe eae nee you. “Vell, you always did bother me,” observed Slog- ger, with an assumed carelessness, as he moved towards the broken gap under the arch; “ but, curse me, if I know vhot to make of you, now yer comes the grand in that sort of style. Sometimes I fancies that you really are vhot you seem to be, and sometimes again I can’t help thinking that you isn't. Howsomever, Bill trusted you, and he’s rayther a deep ’un; so I dare say it’s all right. As for my deceiving yer, it ain’t in my nature; ‘specially vhen it goes agin my interest. Leave me to put them off from coming here; and only tell us vhen and vhere to meet again, and see if I don’t vork the oracle for yer.” “ To-night, at twelve, come to the same place, and you shall find that I can pay well for the business in which I mean to employ you,” said the Phantom decisively ; “ but a look, a word, or gesture, that hints at a betrayal, and you will not again have the oppor- tunity of giving either.” Slogger, reiterating his promise of acquitting him- self faithfully in the task allotted to him, led the way to the extremity of the passages underground; and whilst so doing, pointed out to the Phantom, who had borne the light, a few rough and uneven wooden steps, which led to a trap-door above, and which had evidently been constructed many years ago to give easier access to the place. This was described by the coiner to be the spot where an illicit distillery had been for a long time in operation, until some dispute about a share in the profits had caused it to be dis- continued. The trap-door had a communication with »a stable situated down a narrow court at the back of & turning leading out of the Cornwall Road, and it was through this avenue that Slogger, who had been entrusted with the keys of the stable, had found his way to the vaults. His own mode of obtaining ad- mission the Phantom did not choose to divulge. Having seen the man safely out of the subterranean passages, the note-forger retraced his steps, and again inspecting the result of his night’s labours, he reckoned the amount they would produce, and viewed the counterfeit wealth he had created with an exult- ing manifestation of triumph. “ Now, then,” he soliloquised, as he replaced the ladder and returned to the house above, “ but one more thousand, and the task to which I have devoted myself will be near completion. The fellow whom chance has thrown in my way will be a help to my project where I most needed it: I may then boldly avow the cause I have espoused, and throw off a dis- guise that will be no longer necessary.” As he reached the rooms above, now looking cold and dreary in the grey of the morning, as the rays struggled fitfully through the skylight and the cre- vices of the shatters, he threw his cloak around him, drew his cap slouchingly down over his features, and once more carefully locking the door behind him, strode away down the thoroughfare in the direction of the bridge. Engaging a cab that was passing at the time near the toll-gate, the unknown immediately jumped into the vehicle, and was conveyed to the terminus of the North Western Railway, where, waiting for the de- parture of the first morning train, we may, for the present, leave him, mae ee ee eee me eee sae ee THE MYSTERIES OF LONDON, construction with singularly gratifying facility. SS A TS NTS —e—-— 6 eee CHAPTER VIII. A NEW ACQUAINTANCE, For some days Thornton had been actively en» gaged in the occupation which the affairs of Mr. Fitzroy Greene had furnished: not that those affairs were very extensive or complicated, nor likely to give rise to duties very arduous in their nature ; but rail- way matters, that always seemed to occupy a con- siderable share of Mr. Greene’s time and money, were continually brought before him; and the dence connected therewith, under the dictation of the busy speculator himself, required his constant atten- tion. He would also occasionally convey messages to the brokers in the city, and communicate orders to those shopkeepers that Mr. Greene patronieed, added to his epistolary avocation, made the he held seem rather ambiguous. Whether he pre- cisely filled the situation ofa clerk or porter Thornton often felt in doubt; but the treatment he received was too liberal and considerate to make him dissatisfied with his employment; and he rested content with the motley round of services which he daily performed, until something of a more permanent and promising character should present itself in his way. Once, when he had been dispatched on a mission to the city, he had called in upon the old clerk at the stock-broker’s, and told him the success of his appli- cation; and tothank him more efficiently, he had pre- vailed upon Mr. Crummins to accompany him to the little room of his favourite tavern, where he insisted upon defraying the expenditure of a small banquet in honour of his appointment, and which consisted of a steak cooked to wonderful perfection on a gridiron within their sight, a.d served on a pewter platter almost as hot as the fire from which it had been ab- stracted. With this extravagant repast before him, and inspired by the contemplation of the sea of rich brown gravy, and the accompanying pyramid of smoking potatoes, looking, as he symbolically ex- pressed it, like little balls of flour, Mr, Crummins ventured to dilate upon the enjoyment of such indul- gencies, and professed some uncomfortable misgivings lest the financial arrangements might be inadequate to the amount. But, finding that the foaming tan- kard of porter might be again replenished, and that even the additional luxury of a small glass of rum and water—a beverage for which the clerk confessed a peculiar weakness—could be obtained without bring ing his liberal entertainer to the verge of ) Mr. Crummins grew quite enthusiastic in his praise and, wishing to reciprocate the kindly spirit in which he had been treated, he got so far confidential as to communicate his address, hitherto a profound and undivulged mystery, and invite Thornton, in return, to take tea with him some day in his own apartments —an invitation presumed to refer to a little room situated on the confines of a small street by the New Road, and to the peaceful seclusion of which the clerk with punctual regularity nightly retired at dusk. But this was one of Henry’s red-letter days; for his usual task was performed in Mr, Greene’s own pre- sence, in the first-floor drawing-room, a prim and formal chamber, looking down upon the river, where the arrangement for future sales and transfers were duly canvassed and considered, and where that specu- lative gentleman and his intimate Parkins, who it, all such business seemed primary agent wnd Mr. suggester, built castles of aerial Gomichbook (Efe)