,
to search the house," rejoined Mrs. Wood, in equal trepidation. "We
shall all be murdered. Oh! that Mr. Kneebone were here to protect me!"

"If it _is_ Jonathan," rejoined Wood, "it is very well for Mr. Kneebone
he's not here. He'd have enough to do to protect himself, without
attending to you. I declare I'm almost afraid to go to the door.
Something, I'm convinced, has happened to the boys."

"Has Jonathan Wild been here to-day?" asked Mrs. Sheppard, anxiously.

"To be sure he has!" returned Mrs. Wood; "and Blueskin, too. They're
only just gone, mercy on us! what a clatter," she added, as the knocking
was repeated more violently than before.

While the carpenter irresolutely quitted the room, with a strong
presentiment of ill upon his mind, a light quick step was heard
descending the stairs, and before he could call out to prevent it, a man
was admitted into the passage.

"Is this Misther Wudd's, my pretty miss?" demanded the rough voice of
the Irish watchman.

"It is", seplied Winifred; "have you brought any tidings of Thames
Darrell!"

"Troth have I!" replied Terence: "but, bless your angilic face, how did
you contrive to guess that?"

"Is he well?--is he safe?--is he coming back," cried the little girl,
disregarding the question.

"He's in St. Giles's round-house," answered Terence; "but tell Mr. Wudd
I'm here, and have brought him a message from his unlawful son, and
don't be detainin' me, my darlin', for there's not a minute to lose if
the poor lad's to be recused from the clutches of that thief and
thief-taker o' the wurld, Jonathan Wild."

The carpenter, upon whom no part of this hurried dialogue had been lost,
now made his appearance, and having obtained from Terence all the
information which that personage could impart respecting the perilous
situation of Thames, he declared himself ready to start to Saint Giles's
at once, and ran back to the room for his hat and stick; expressing his
firm determination, as he pocketed his constable's staff with which he
thought it expedient to arm himself, of being direfully revenged upon
the thief-taker: a determination in which he was strongly encouraged by
his wife. Terence, meanwhile, who had followed him, did not remain
silent, but recapitulated his story, for the benefit of Mrs. Sheppard.
The poor widow was thrown into an agony of distress on learning that a
robbery had been committed, in which her son (for she could not doubt
that Jack was one of the boy