Stranica 198 [198]
146
CHAPTER THE FIRST,
Cntaining an account of what passed between
Mr. and Mrs. Bumble and Monks at their noc¬
turnal interview.
It was a dull, close, overcast summer
evening, when the clouds, which had been
threatening all day, spread out in a dense
gish mass of vapour, already
and slu
yielded levies drops of rain, and seemed
to presage a violent thunder-storm, as Mr.
and Mrs. Bumble, turning out of the main
street of the town, directed their course
towards a scattered little colony of ruin¬
ous houses, distant from it some mile and
and a half, or thereabouts, and erected on
a low unwholesome swamp, bordering
upon the river.
They were both wrapped in old and
shabby outer garments, which might per¬
haps serve the double purpose of protect¬
ing their persons from the rain, and shel¬
tering them from observation; the hus¬
band carried a lantern, from which, how¬
ever, no light yet shone, and trudged on
a few paces in front, as though—the way
being dirty—to give his wife the benefit
of treading in his heavy foot-prints. They
went on in profound silence; every now
and then Mr. Bumble relaxed his pace,
and turned his head round, as if to make
sure that his helpmate was following, and,
discovering that she was close at his heels,
mended his rate of walking, and proceed¬
ed at a considerable increase of speed to¬
wards their place of destination.
This was far from being a place of
doubtful character, for it had long been
known as the residence of none but low
and desperate ruffians, who, under vari¬
ous pretences of living by their labour,
subsisted chiefly on plunder and crime.
It was a collection of mere hovels, some
hastily built with loose bricks, and others
of old worm-eaten ship timber, jumbled
together without any attempt at order or
arrangement, and planted, for the most
part, within a few feet of the river's bank.
A few leaky boats drawn up on the mud,
and made fast to the dwarf wall which
skirted it, and here and there an oar or
coil of rope, appeared at first to indicate
that the inhabitants of these miserable
cottages pursued some avocation on the
river; but a glance at the shattered and
useless condition of the articles thus dis¬
played would have led a passer-by with¬
out much difficulty to the conjecture that
they were disposed there, rather for the
preservation of appearances than with
ployed.
In the heart of this cluster of huts, and
skirting the river, which its upper stories
overhung, stood a large building formerly
used as a manufactory of some kind, and
which had in its day probably furnished
employment to the inhabitants of the sur¬
rounding tenements. But it had long
since gone to ruin. The rat, the worm,
and the action of the damp, had weakened
and rotted the piles on which it stood, and
a considerable portion of the building had
already sunk down into the water be¬
neath, while the remainder, tottering and
bending over the dark stream, seemed but
to wait a favourable opportunity of fol¬
lowing its old companion, and involving
itself in the same fate.
It was before this ruinous building that
the worthy couple paused as the first peal
of distant thunder reverberated in the air,
and the rain commenced pouring violently
down.
‘‘'The place should be somewhere here,”
said Bumble, consulting a scrap of paper
he held in his hand.
“Halloa there!” cried a voice from
above.
Following the sound, Bumble raised his
head, and descried a man looking out of
a door, breast-high, on the second story.
c Stand still a minute,” cried the voice;
(6 [/11 be with you directly.”” With which
the head disappeared, and the door closed.
“Ts that the man?” asked Mr. Bumble’s
good lady.
Mr. Bumble nodded in the affirmative.
“Then, mind what I told you,” said
the matron, “ and be careful to say as lit¬
tle as you can, or you’ll betray us at
once.”
Mr. Bumble, who had eyed the build¬
ing with very rueful looks, was apparently
about to express some doubts relative to
the advisability of proceeding any farther
with the enterprise just then, when he
was prevented by the appearance of
Monks, who opened a small door, near
which they stood, and beckoned them in¬
wards,
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