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Th FRANK LESLIF’S NEW, YORK JOURNAL.
One source of his income arose from the adjoin-
ing house, which was also his property. — It was let
out in lodgings: not to: the poor—for those who
frequented it paid well for the accommodation ; but
to such reckless; desperate characters as feared to
meet the eye and hand of justice—men who were
at war with their fellow-men, and had need of tem-
porary concealment. © 0 U1 0 8m
The building was reported to be well-suited to
the purpose for which it was eniployed. It had as
many exits as‘ windows: one into the Almonry,
which lay at the back—another into Tothill Street,
a third over the zoof, to which a cord was secured,
ready to be dropped at a moment's notice, into a
dark, narrow alley. Down this cord an active man
could easily descend, if closely pursued.- .
Never were’ any two human beings more unlike
than Martha Quin ‘and her grandfather : the latter
we have described. The former still retained tra-
ces of great beauty, although the early bloom of
youth had Jong since faded. Her hair and eyes
“Were dark; her figure well-formed and graceful.
. There was a report that her mother had been of the
gipsy race—perhaps it was merely the gossip of the
neighbors. . Bo
Martha was as much beloved and pitied as her
"grandfather was hated and feared. Her appearance
conveyed the impression of a person prematurely
* old, who had never known achildhood. -Those who
had known her longest had never seen her dressed
in anything but a coarse stuff. gown, of a sombre
hue, something between the color of a rusty pall
, and a very dark brown.
It was little that the meek, quiet-looking creature
could give to the poor around her—but that little
she gave freely, and the gift was invariably accom-
* panied by kind words which enhanced its’ value.
She seldom left the house, unless in the absence of
the old man, to see some neighbor who was ill; and
even then her visits were made in fear and tremb-
ling, lest he should return before she got back
again, ‘Pleasure was a word of which she scarcely
- knew the meaning—she had never had a day’s plea-
sure in her life. i ue
Although so submissive in her appearance that
the expression amornted almost to apathy, a physi-
ognomist might have discovered a latent energy in
the occasional flashes of her dark eye—a passion
which, like the volcano, slept, but was not extinct.
any persons wondered why Peter Quin—who
certainly appeared fond of his grand-daughter—did
‘not employ a servant, and permit her to dress and
visit like other people.
The cause was plain
enough to those who knew himintimately. He never
parted ‘with a shilling, even for the necessaries of
life, but it was like a drop of blood wrung from his
heart; and, for many reasons, it would not have
suited the old man to have had the eyes of astranger
to spy on his proceedings.
It was about eight in the evening, on the first of,
September—exactly a year after tke death of
Edwaid Trevanian. The shutters of the little par-
lor and office—for it served the purposes of both—
were closed, and the old man was seated at his desk, | .
’ busily occupied, by the light of a single candle, in
examining the pages of a huge ledger. lying open
before him. | The writing was a singular mixture of
hieroglyphics and what the French call argal—a
language peculiar to the knights of the road, bur-
. glars, and other desperate characters. ~
His attention was aroused by a single knock at
» the street door. He raised his head and listened ;
then drew from his fob an old-fashioned gold re-
peater, and regarded the hour. © : oe
“ A quarter-past eight!” he muttered; ‘it can’t
. be the man I expect!”
“ po
P
. although his language denoted a person of superior | had run. |
The knock was repeated with considerable vigor
—the visitor evidently began to feel impatient—and
the light step of his grand-daughter was heard in
the passage.
: ** Do not undo the. chain, Martha!” exclaimed
Peter, in a loud tone; let me know who it is first !”
In a few minutes she entered the room, and in-
formed him that a stranger wished to see him.
“Did he give his name?” demanded her grand-
father. : :
She silently placed a piece of paper upon the ta-
ble before him. On it was written, in a disguised
hand, the words, ‘“ Southwell, 1793—five hundred
unds, vo y? i?
The agent reflected for a few minutes, then tapped
his wrinkled forehead, as if he had suddenly recol-
leeted the circumstance to which the date and money
referred, and told his grand-daughter that he would
see the gentleman.
_ “Gentleman!” repeated.Martha, in a tone of sur-
rise. ‘He has not much the appearance of one,
|
education, He addressed me as if I had been a ser-
vant: not ‘that I wonder at that !”.she added, with
a sigh, at the same time glancing at her faded dress.
‘The old man only smiled.) 4; ) ao
“In this world,”’ he said, “ we must not judge by
appearances. Admit him! Yet, stay—I will go my-
self, to prevent mistakes 1” plop tepals
e took the solitary candle from the table and
shufiled from the! room, followed by, the woman,
who :was: too much accustomed to the. singular
character of his visitors to express much surprise.
Still; somehow or other, she did feel an universal!
curiosity respecting the business which brought the
stranger to the house. Tet a he pa
On reaching the door, Peter Quin saw a tall man,
wrapped in an-old camlet cloak, his hat. drawn
closely over his brow, standing as near to the half-
opened . entrance. as: possibie, evidently with ‘the
wish to avoid observation, © 0 0
* You: desired to speak with me? said the old
3
2
“Yes—that is if you are the same Peter Quin
who at the date referred to in my paper, served me
in a certain affair.” Shes Q :
“I am that same Peter Quin!” replied the agent,
dropping the chain to admit his visitor, whom’ he
conducted into the little parlor as soon as he had
again secured the door.) 1. ov. sj
‘You may leave us, Martha,” he observed; “I
will let the gentleman out myself.” _
‘Should he whom you expect arrive, what am I .
to say?” . =
: © He will not be here this hour!” exclaimed the
old man, looking at his watch; ‘ and.by that time
we shall doubtless have finished our conversation.
Should it prove otherwise, tell him I will see him
in the morning.” ty So
“The stranger must be a client of importince !”
mentally. observed the woman, as she wichdrew};
‘it is not often that he breaks an appointment with
the captain!” a2 tthe i
“ You recollect me?’ said the stranger, as soon
as he and the agent were by themselves. . oe
“ Perfectly!” answered, Peter Quin; ‘and, the
business you employed. me upon! It was a. bad
affair, although you paid me liberally! The man I}-
employed, not content with obtaining the leaf from|
the register, took the communion. plate from the
church, So large a reward was offered, that I was]:
compelled to supply him with the means of quitting
the country. It ought to have been more!” he ad-
ded, fretfully ; “double the sum, at least !’, .
“ Should you prove willing to assist me.now,”
observed his mysterious visitor, *‘the sum I am wil-
ling to pay may make up for your loss. -I am ready
to come down liberally!” vette
The eyes of the agent sparkled. Gold was his
god, and he was at all times ready to worship those
who were able to minister to his avarice. Yet,
with his usual cunning, he affected to appear in-
different, and muttered something about his"having
withdrawn from business—of course merely with
the intention of enhancing the value of his services.
“In that case,” said.the gentleman, rising, ‘I
must seek some other agent |” : -
“No—no!” exclaimed. Peter, hastily. ‘I will
do anything rather than disoblige an old client!
Besides, you know that you can trust'-me! This
old head of mine,’? he added, touching his wrink-
led brow, ‘is the depository of strange and curious
secrets! I could set half London by the ears—but
Iam close! What is it you require?” oo.
“The abduction of an infant!’’ replied his visitor,
lowering his tone. ‘ It will prove no very difficult
affair, since it belongs to exceedingly poor people,
who reside in a lone cottage in a distant part of the
country. ~*~ pode 2" .
“The abduction only ?” demanded Peter, with a
furtive glance at his visitor, ‘“ Nothing more?”
“ Nothing—except that you find some person
who for a certain sum will take charge of the child,
bring it up as their own, and ask no questions.” ~
i And where is this infant?” = .
“That you shall know,” answered the stranger,
‘‘when we have arranged the cunditions and the
sum. Are you willing to undertake what I require 1”
“Tam!” replied the agent. _ Had you. required
more than the abduction of the infant, I would have
had nothing to do with it; the eyes of justice are
sharper than they were, and I am getting old—very
old—and must begin to think of settling my affairs
with heaven! [tis very merciful,” he added, in an
anxious tone; ‘tand I have not been more wicked
than the resi. of the world! We must all live!”
A haughty smile flitted over the lips of the stran-
ger, aa he heard the old rascal attempt palliating to
his conscience the career of crime and villany he
your price?” 5 . : .
If Peter Quin was a slow hand at striking. a bar-
gain, he was a very sure one. . It was not his usual
practice to name at once the precise sum for which
he would undertake the lawless deeJs so frequently
required of him; he liked tu dwell upon the difficul-
ties, the chances, the risxs—and so gradually prepare
those who employed him for his exorbitant demand
before he made it ; but, having: once made, it was a
principle with him never to swerve fyom it. ;
“It is a difficult thing to find agents now,’ he be-
gan, “ whom you can trust—and [ am too old to go
myself! Is;there likely to, be any great stir made
in the matter?” , : be cote peasy
‘“‘No—the parents are poor.” |, 0) |.
- “Then something will depend upon the distance
and the time—you have no idea, sir, how unreason-
able men have grown: in my. young days, they
thought less of risking their necks than they do
now of simple transportation—and yet I am told it
is a very healthy country that they send them to!”’
“T have no time to- waste in such discussions!”
observed his visitor angrily, at the same time rising
from his chair; “ these are matters for your consid-
eration—not mine !'I did not come to huxter with
you! . For the last time, your price?” ©, ~~
“One thousand pounds!” slowly. pronounced
the agent; ‘the sum isa large one, but you can
afford to pay it!» 9. roa tea :
“ How do you know?” demanded the gentleman,
in atone ofalarm. 7) PS
’ The old man smiled, but remained silent. There
were few who employed him to whose name and
station he did not contrive to obtain some ‘clue.
“Tt matters but little whether I can afford it or
not,”’- continued the speaker, convinced by a mo-
ments reflection that the means he had taken to pre-
vent the discovery of his position in life had been
impenetrable, “since I must pay it!”
'_- Peter breathed a sigh of, satisfaction—for he be-
gan to fear. that he had‘ overshot his mark by the
exorbitancy of hisdemand. 7 :
«The sum you name must include everything !””
observed the stranger. 9) 2S 8
“ Everything !? 0° °° .
“And you engage to provide
course—for the child?” (7 7
“Yes oS : .
“How is it to be paid?”
“Five hundred down, and five hundred a week
after the ‘abduction’? answered the ‘agent, after a
pause. “I say a ‘week,’ because it may not be
quite convenient for you to visit me sooner; but it
must not exceed that term!” — .. ~
“What if it'should?”?.-° ‘> ,
«The child would be restored to its friends, and
the first five hundred, consequently, might as well
have oeen thrown into the Thames.” o
The bargain of infamy. and crime was struck,
Before leaving the house, the man, whose manners
and language so ill accorded with his appearance,
counted down upon the desk of Peter Quin’ tive
hundred pounds, in snall notes and gold. .
‘The agent secretly smiled at the precaution. |’ Had
he written him a checque for the amount ~pon his
banker, it would not’ have made him better ac.
quainted with his name than he was already,
. “And ‘now,’ he said, after counting the money
and. securing it’in his desk,’ «the name of the
place ?? os : a
The stranger whispered it in his ear.
** Good,” said Peter, writing it down; “and the
child's ?”” . ae ‘
lt was imparted in the same cautious manner.
The wrinkles‘on the brow of the man of many
secrets became suddenly deeper when he heard it,
and he looked at ‘his visitor reproachfully, as if he
“Your price man?” he muttered, impatiently ;
Par Pay tad
. | had over-reached him in the bargain he had made,
“ He thinks he has deceived me,” he muttered, as
he carefully fastened the street door, after the de-
parture of the stranger; * so rich, and yet so mean !
ut there is no honesty left in the world!” « ‘
On returning to the parlor, he carefully drew the
bolts ; then, stooping under the table, with some
difficulty raised one of the boards of the floor, ang
drew from a recess. beneath a heavy iron casket,
which. he opened with a key suspended bya ribbou
attached to his watch-chain. oo .
“« It is the same name!” he exclaimed; « my re-
collection’ did not deceive me, Peter Quin has a
head as long as his own! They must play well who
shuffle the cards with me.” A good day's work,”
he added, with a chuckle—an excelleut day's work!
A thousand down, and the infant in my hands!”
A knock was again heard at the street door, The
casket wus quickly replaced, and the old’ man pre-
pared to receive his new visitor, whom Martha had
athe wa ho BGI E My ne ar ‘
jane
oes ace
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—tespectably, of