The Mysteries of the Court of London by Pauline Clarendon — page 323: what you’re looking at

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

320 THE COURT OF LONDON “ Quite certain,’ was the answer, given in a tone which might have had nothing unusual in it, but which the in- creasing fears = Ramsey construed into a foreboding gruff- ness. “And you think that he will consent to accompany us to Aylesbury to-night? ’’ he asked, in that species of nervous humour which prompts men who entertain vague ideas of impending danger to converse with those at whose hands the peril is dreaded, in order to glean from their responses an assurance that such apprehensions are altogether un- founded. “To be sure I do,” answered the Big Beggarman. ‘‘ Joe is not the feller to let a chance of sacking a good sum escape him.”’ ‘“So much the better,’ exclaimed Ramsey, assuming a tone of cheerfulness, which he was, however, far from experi- encing inwardly. ‘‘ Shall we soon push in for the shore? ”’ ‘“‘There’s Execution Dock right ahead of you now,” re- turned the Beggarman, extending his arm in the direction of the ominous spot. ‘“' But perhaps your eyes don’t get accustomed to the darkness quite so soon as mine? ”’ ‘““T can see something that appears to hang in the air,” said Ramsey, straining all the powers of his vision in order to penetrate the obscurity which prevailed all around. “ It is a black object, a thing darker than the darkness — ”’ “Well, and that’s one of them scarecrows that mark Execution Dock at times,’ observed the Big Beggarman, with a rough, chuckling laugh, in which both his daughter and the Kinchin-Grand ‘onal “A man hanging!’ gasped Ramsey, as his excited im- agination made the appalling object even more palpable than it really was, until the very features of the pendant corpse seemed to glare upon him with stony gaze through the darkness of the night. “Yes, and why not?’’ exclaimed the Beggarman, with another coarse chuckle. “ It’s a pleasure to the aristocracy to hang up poor devils who haven’t got any influential friends to beg ’em off. But I say, old feller,’’ he continued, his tone experiencing a rapid and ominous change, as he laid his heavy hand rudely upon the shoulder of Ramsey, “you'd better give me that bag of guineas which yom ve got under your rlsek ; ECORNIE OOOKS (Elo) m