The young rascals! I do believe they'd burn up the whole town if they had their way." With this he resumed the paper.

After a long silence he exclaimed, "Hullo!" upon which I nearly fell off the chair.
"'Miscreants unknown,'" read my grandfather, following the paragraph with his forefinger; "'escaped from the bridewell, leaving no clew to their identity, except the letter H, cut on one of the benches.' 'Five dollars reward offered for the apprehension of the perpetrators.' Sho! I hope Wingate will catch them." I don't see how I continued to live, for on hearing this the breath went entirely out of my body.

I beat a retreat from the room as soon as I could, and flew to the stable with a misty intention of mounting Gypsy and escaping from the place.

I was pondering what steps to take, when Jack Harris and Charley Marden entered the yard.
"I say," said Harris, as blithe as a lark, "has old Wingate been here ?" "Been here ?" I cried, "I should hope not!" "The whole thing's out, you know," said Harris, pulling Gypsy's forelock over her eyes and blowing playfully into her nostrils.
"You don't mean it!" I gasped.
"Yes, I do, and we are to pay Wingate three dollars apiece.

He'll make rather a good spec out of it." "But how did he discover that we were the--the miscreants ?" I asked, quoting mechanically from the Rivermouth Bamacle.
"Why, he saw us take the old ark, confound him! He's been trying to sell it any time these ten years.