"Never!" replied the woollen-draper; "and if that treacherous rascal, by your side, doesn"t make himself scarce quickly, I"ll send a bullet through his brain."
"My death will lie at your door," remarked Jackson to the carpenter.
"Show me your warrant!" said Wood, almost driven to his wit"s-end; "perhaps it isn"t regular?"
"Ask him who he is?" suggested Thames.
"A good idea!" exclaimed the carpenter. "May I beg to know whom I"ve the pleasure of adressing? Jackson, I conclude, is merely an a.s.sumed name."
"What does it signify?" returned the latter, angrily.
"A great deal!" replied Thames. "If you won"t disclose your name, I will for you! You are Jonathan Wild!"
"Further concealment is needless," answered the other, pulling off his wig and black patch, and resuming his natural tone of voice; "I _am_ Jonathan Wild!"
"Say you so!" rejoined Kneebone; "then be this your pa.s.sport to eternity."
Upon which he drew the trigger of the pistol, which, luckily for the individual against whom it was aimed, flashed in the pan.
"I might now send you on a similar journey!" replied Jonathan, with a bitter smile, and preserving the unmoved demeanour he had maintained throughout; "but I prefer conveying you, in the first instance, to Newgate. The Jacobite daws want a scarecrow."
So saying, he sprang, with a bound like that of a tiger-cat, against the throat of the woollen-draper. And so sudden and well-directed was the a.s.sault, that he completely overthrew his gigantic antagonist.
"Lend a hand with the ruffles, Blueskin!" he shouted, as that personage, who had just recovered from the stunning effects of the blow, contrived to pick himself up. "Look quick, d--n you, or we shall never master him!"
"Murder!" shrieked Mrs. Wood, at the top of her voice.
"Here"s a pistol!" cried Thames, darting towards the undischarged weapon dropped by Blueskin in the scuffle, and pointing it at Jonathan. "Shall I shoot him?"
"Yes! yes! put it to his ear!" cried Mrs. Wood; "that"s the surest way!"
"No! no! give it me!" vociferated Wood, s.n.a.t.c.hing the pistol, and rushing to the door, against which he placed his back.
"I"ll soon settle this business. Jonathan Wild!" he added, in a loud voice, "I command you to release your prisoner."
"So I will," replied Jonathan, who, with Blueskin"s aid, had succeeded in slipping a pair of handcuffs over the woollen-draper"s wrists, "when I"ve Mr. Walpole"s order to that effect--but not before."
"You"ll take the consequences, then?"
"Willingly."
"In that case I arrest you, and your confederate, Joseph Blake, alias Blueskin, on a charge of felony," returned Wood, brandishing his staff; "resist my authority, if you dare."
"A clever device," replied Jonathan; "but it won"t serve your turn. Let us pa.s.s, Sir. Strike the gag, Blueskin."
"You shall not stir a footstep. Open the window, Thames, and call for a.s.sistance."
"Stop!" cried Jonathan, who did not care to push matters too far, "let me have a word with you, Mr. Wood."
"I"ll have no explanations whatever," replied the carpenter, disdainfully, "except before a magistrate."
"At least state your charge. It is a serious accusation."
"It _is_," answered Wood. "Do you recollect this key? Do you recollect to whom you gave it, and for what purpose? or shall I refresh your memory?"
Wild appeared confounded.
"Release your prisoner," continued Wood, "or the window is opened."
"Mr. Wood," said Jonathan, advancing towards him, and speaking in a low tone, "the secret of your adopted son"s birth is known to me. The name of his father"s murderer is also known to me. I can help you to both,--nay, I _will_ help you to both, if you do not interfere with my plans. The arrest of this person is of consequence to me. Do not oppose it, and I will serve you. Thwart me, and I become your mortal enemy. I have but to give a hint of that boy"s existence in the proper quarter, and his life will not be worth a day"s purchase."
"Don"t listen to him, father," cried Thames, unconscious of what was pa.s.sing; "there are plenty of people outside."
"Make your choice," said Jonathan.
"If you don"t decide quickly, I"ll scream," cried Mrs. Wood, popping her head through the window.
"Set your prisoner free!" returned Wood.
"Take off the ruffles, Blueskin," rejoined Wild. "You know my fixed determination," he added in a low tone, as he pa.s.sed the carpenter.
"Before to-morrow night that boy shall join his father."
So saying, he unlocked the door and strode out of the room.
"Here are some letters, which will let you see what a snake you"ve cherished in your bosom, you uxorious old dotard," said Blueskin, tossing a packet of papers to Wood, as he followed his leader.
""Odd"s-my-life! what"s this?" exclaimed the carpenter, looking at the superscription of one of them. "Why, this is your writing Dolly, and addressed to Mr. Kneebone."
"My writing! no such thing!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the lady, casting a look of alarm at the woollen-draper.
"Confusion! the rascal must have picked my pocket of your letters,"
whispered Kneebone, "What"s to be done?"
"What"s to be done! Why, I"m undone! How imprudent in you not to burn them. But men _are_ so careless, there"s no trusting anything to them!
However, I must try to brazen it out.--Give me the letters, my love,"
she added aloud, and in her most winning accents; "they"re some wicked forgeries."
"Excuse me, Madam," replied the carpenter, turning his back upon her, and sinking into a chair: "Thames, my love, bring me my spectacles. My heart misgives me. Fool that I was to marry for beauty! I ought to have remembered that a fair woman and a slashed gown always find some nail in the way."
CHAPTER VI.
The first Step towards the Ladder.
If there is one thing on earth, more lovely than another, it is a fair girl of the tender age of Winifred Wood! Her beauty awakens no feeling beyond that of admiration. The charm of innocence breathes around her, as fragrance is diffused by the flower, sanctifying her lightest thought and action, and shielding her, like a spell, from the approach of evil.