FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105  
106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   >>  
t to wait for the Bishop o' Blanford and a lady as was comin' down next day, and the Bishop was to give the sailin' orders." "Humph! What more?" "This mornin' I seed 'em lookin' over a lot of flags on the deck of the yacht, and one of 'em was Spanish." "So you came all the way up here to tell me this cock-and-bull story!" "Not till I'd squared the crew." "Squared the crew?" "I let on to 'em as how they'd been shipped under false orders to carry two Spanish spies out of the country, an' how we was on to the fact, and if they'd stay by us they'd not be held responsible; and I promised 'em ten shillin's apiece and give 'em all the drink they wanted, and they're ours to a man." "And that's where you've wasted good money and good liquor. I tell you what you say is impossible. If the Bishop had had any idea of a move like that, I'd have got wind of it. Besides, his old cat of a sister would never let him leave Blanford again without her." "Hist!" said the tramp, pointing across the lawn. "Look there, what did I say? My eyesight ain't what it was, from breakin' stones up to Sing Sing, and I can't see no faces at this distance, but there's somethin' sneakin' along there, in bishop's togs." Marchmont followed the direction he indicated, and saw two figures stealing round the corner of the palace, carrying hand-bags and showing every sign of watchfulness and suspicion. Having ascertained that the lawn was clear, they slipped rapidly across it, and, putting themselves in the protecting shade of a clump of bushes, turned into the high-road and disappeared. It had needed no second glance to identify them as his Lordship and Miss Arminster. "By Jove!" gasped the journalist. "It is true, then! This will be a scoop of scoops! Come, we've got to run for it. We must take the same train, and they mustn't see us." Some one else had witnessed the departure, in spite of all the precautions of the fugitives, and that person was Miss Matilda, who, from the vantage of an upper window, caught a glimpse of them just as they disappeared through the gate. Unwilling at first to believe her senses, she rushed to her brother's room and then to Miss Arminster's. Alas! in each apartment the traces of hasty packing and missing hand-luggage gave damning evidence of the fact. She rushed downstairs, bursting with her dreadful intelligence. In the hall she met Cecil, delightedly waving a telegram in his hand. "Hurrah! Aunt Matilda
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105  
106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   >>  



Top keywords:
Bishop
 

Matilda

 

Arminster

 
rushed
 
disappeared
 
orders
 

Spanish

 

Blanford

 

glance

 

scoops


needed
 
gasped
 

journalist

 

identify

 

Lordship

 

turned

 

watchfulness

 

suspicion

 

Having

 

ascertained


showing
 

corner

 

palace

 
carrying
 

slipped

 
bushes
 
rapidly
 

putting

 

protecting

 

witnessed


luggage

 

damning

 
evidence
 
missing
 

packing

 
apartment
 

traces

 

downstairs

 

bursting

 

waving


delightedly

 

telegram

 
Hurrah
 

dreadful

 
intelligence
 
brother
 

departure

 

precautions

 
fugitives
 

person