Beautiful Rienzi; or, The secret vendetta — page 175: what you’re looking at

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

170 BEAUTIFUL RIENZI. “Hush!” murmured my mother, ‘‘ who is this person?” ‘The man who absconded from Silverlea—Ralph More- combe.” ‘‘ Be kind enough to direct me where to find Mrs. Ring- wood,” said my mother, temperately. ‘‘1I should like to see her before the train leaves Shirley Sands.” The man slowly shifted his regards from my face, and honored her with a slight wave of the hand toward his drip- ping hat. ‘Madam, if it’s Mrs. Ringwood you want, she’s——’ ‘*Quick—out with it!” I hissed, impetuously. ‘“*Not here,” he concluded, turning to me with an un- pleasant sparkle in his coal-black orbs. ‘‘T implore you, patience, Ivanilla!” whispered my mother, drawing me back. ‘‘Do you mean that she is not at Shir- ley Sands?” this to the sneering villain himself. -‘T said that, ma’am,” he responded. ‘It’s false, then!” I stormed; ‘‘she left Stantons Hotel with you, and we have not lost sight of you Since.” ‘‘Miss Rienzi is mistaken. Mrs. Ringwood did leave Stanton’s Hotel with me, but—” here he made a long, de- liberate pause and stroked his long, grizzled beard, and eyed us with a gradually deepening smile, as the engine gave one last shriek and suddenly moved out of the station with its train of carriages. ‘‘ But,” he resumed, ‘‘ Mrs. Ringwood did not come all the way with me;-I left her on the road. Sorry to give you such a drive for nothing.” He moved off and began to mount into his buggy, but Nelson stepped to the horse's head and grasped the reins. “Not yet, mister,” he growled; ‘‘ my mistress hasn’t given you leave yet, as I’ve heard. Step out, old chap.” And step out he did, for Nelson had the best of it with the excitable animal rearing in his grasp and ready to dash down upon the railway track, carriage and all, whenever liberty should come. ‘All right,” said Morecombe, with a sinister satisfaction, as he settled himself against the wall and folded his arms; ‘«¢ Pll wait as long as the ladies like.” ‘“‘“Where is Mrs. Ringwood?” asked my mother, firmly controlling her feelings of indignation; ‘tell me, if you please, if she went off in the cars which have just left?” ‘¢No, madam.” ‘You wretch, tell me the truth!” cried I, trembling be- 3 CORNUCG OOO S (©)